Popstar Paradise
by TwistedTrident
Summary: Percy Jackson's seemingly perfect life comes crashing down when his mother gets into a tragic accident. With nowhere else to go, he's shipped off to live with Annabeth Chase, a famous celeb with a huge attitude problem. Living together is no easy task. As the chaos escalates, Annabeth's convinced her paradise is miles away, but little does she know, it's closer than she thinks.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The crash. The funeral. The tears. The sadness. The loss. All of it jumbled together to form an unbearable pain in my chest. Everything that happened these passed few days has been a blur, a huge, foggy blur. I don't remember most of it; I'm trying to forget, trying to piece myself back together, but my heart has been shattered into far too many pieces for me to locate all of them. All the glue in the world wouldn't be able to put me back together. Nothing could, nothing but my mother. Even though I know she's never coming back, I still think she's going to come walking back into our small apartment the following morning with her sweet smile plastered to her face, opening her arms for me to run into. People have told me hundreds of times these past few days that it wasn't my fault, that there was nothing I could do. But deep down, I blame myself. If I hadn't have let her go, she'd still be here, she'd be with me.

A day or two after the accident, I received a call informing me that because Sally Jackson was the only family I had left and she's no longer with us, that I'd have to be placed with a family. The news brought tears to my eyes. I didn't want a new family; I wanted my old one with my mother and I back in our apartment, discussing what's coming up in her new novel. But to say I wasn't surprised when I received a follow-up call, telling me where I was going, would be a lie. My jaw literally dropped when she told me the name of the family that was going to take me in. The Chases, a rich and famous family with a worldwide sensation for a daughter. Most people would think it would be cool to stay with a celebrity, but after the file I read, I'm not so sure.

I'd received a file in the mail the day I'd gotten the call. Inside was a biography of the entire family to let me know more about them so I'm not totally lost when I arrive. It discussed Annabeth and her career, of course, but it also spoke of her two stepbrothers, Bobby and Matthew. They seem to be the troublemakers of the house, pranking the other family members, spray painting the walls, sneaking into their sister's room and drawing mustaches on her face in Sharpie markers-Personally, I thought this one was hilarious. Their father, Fredrick Chase, was a huge airplane fanatic and often reconstructed old planes back into working order which would explain why they had an airplane hanger built into their house. Martha Chase was Annabeth's stepmother and according to the file, they had a strained stepmother/daughter relationship. They have an extremely hard time getting along. The two constantly bicker and scream and yell, throwing insults at the other. The file said that Annabeth lost her mother at a young age and she still has a hard time with her death. It also said Little Miss Popstar has an attitude problem which only angers Mrs. Chase even more.

The family doesn't seem bad, but I'm a mellow, laid back kind of guy and I doubt that I'd fit in with all the chaos going on inside the house.

That's basically what happened and it explains why I'm currently exiting the plane in San Francisco, California, searching for the Chases outside the airport terminal.

With so many people bustling around, it's even harder for me to located the family that I'd only ever seen in photos. Swiveling my head back and forth, I searched from the left to right and finally, I found them. But it turns out them was a him and him was not Fredrick Chase. Confused? So am I.

There was a short, thin man holding a white sign with my name scribbled across it in black dry erase marker. He had silvery gray hair neatly slicked back and a freshly pressed gray suit, shiny black loafers on his feet. He was an older man, probably in his mid-fifties and held himself in such a way that screamed "proper". His poster was stick straight and not once did he slouch. White gloves covered his long, slender fingers. A golden pocket watch was tucked into his pocket which he frequently pulled out to check the time almost like he was afraid he'd be late for something.

I was about to go over to him, but I hesitated. This man had this air to him that made him seem unapproachable and his fancy clothes did nothing but make me feel silly with my ratty t-shirt and holey jeans.

Contemplating my options, I realized I only had two choices: a) pretend I didn't notice him and leave, or b) suck it up and go over to the creepy guy who will take me to a famous family I'd never even met. _Let's go with A. No no, option B. _I went back and forth in my head, unable to make a decision. But I didn't have to because the man in the suit lifted his eyes and they rested on me. He stuck up his right hand and made the "come here" gesture with his pointer finger.

I sighed. Option B it is.

Placing the strap of my duffel bag over my shoulder, I strode over to him, taking as much time as possible by constantly slowing my pace. When I reached him, he stuck out a gloved hand for me to shake and said:

"It's so nice to finally make your acquaintance, Percy. My name is Walter and I'm the Chase's butler. They sent me to retrieve you and bring you to the house." _Cool. He has a British accent. _

"Nice to meet you, too." I replied, shaking his hand.

"Come. The Chase's are expecting you." He led me out of the terminal toward a glossy black limo. Walter took my bags and placed them into the trunk before opening the door and ushering me inside.

Let me just say, limo's are nice. The inside had leather seats with a mini fridge in the corner, sporting all different kinds of sugary beverages. There were lights on the ceiling, flashing vibrant colors throughout the interior. DVD's were neatly stacked beside a huge flat screen TV built into the side of the limo. A digital panel with a touch screen sat next to me on the seat with a list of songs ranging from pop to rap to hip hop to country to rock. Any song you wanted was at the touch of your finger. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the Chase's personal limo.

I grabbed a Coke out of the fridge and sat in the seat at the left side of the limo, opposite the TV. Opening the tab, I took a long sip and tried to relax, soaking in the quiet before the chaos that will no doubt occur. I stared at the blank TV screen, attempting to calm my nerves, but the butterflies that decided to take residence in my stomach obviously didn't get the hint that I wanted them to move out.

"Percy" I jumped, not at all expecting Walter to appear on the screen, especially not so suddenly either. _"_Sorry to scare to you, but I wanted to inform you that we'll be arriving shortly and I thought it best if you take a moment to yourself before you're smothered with questions." _That's what I'd been trying to do before you gave me a heart attack. _

"Ok. Thanks, Walter." He disappeared and the screen became blank once again.

"Oh. One last thing, Percy. Then, I'll let you be," He said, once again appearing on the screen. "I know of what happened to you recently and I know you probably loathe the fact that you have to be here at all, but I want you to know that you're not alone. I lost my mother also and I know how hard this will be for you so if you ever need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to ring me. And if you don't want to talk about it to me, I'm sure Annabeth would listen. I'm not sure if you've been told, but she too lost her mother about…what was it….seven years ago, I do believe. She'll understand what you're going through and I'm positive she'd be glad to help you cope."

"Thank you, Walter, for everything. You don't even know how much I appreciate it. This whole thing has been really hard for me and I thought I'd have to go through it alone. Before, I doubted that anyone would really care because no offense, but the Chase's seem kind of…well…stuck up. And too busy with their own lives to really care about mine. Oh that reminds me. Why did the Chase's, one the richest families on the planet, want me, a loser who can't get above a C average and has no possible future in acting or whatever. Hell, my grades can't even get me into a good college and I'm awful at anything that involves standing in front of large numbers of people and talking or singing. So, why me?'

"Because you're mother would have done the same for him. You probably aren't aware of this, but your mother and Mr. Chase were friends in high school. Those two were inseparable, attached to the hip, until your mother met Poseidon. Then, they grew apart; Sally spent too much attention on your father and not enough on Mr. Chase. Eventually, she forgot about him altogether. As you can imagine, Mr. Chase was devastated, his best friend in the whole world no longer had time for him. When high school ended, your mother and Poseidon married and later on had you. Sally was happy until your father started his new job. He worked as a marine biologist and was gone at sea for long periods throughout the year and when he did return home, he was always in a hurry and would make excuses to leave the house. One night, he'd told your mother he had a business meeting, but she was suspicious and followed him. Instead of work, he went into a tiny house at the edge of town and met a woman. Sally recognized her as Amphitrite, his secretary at the firm he worked for. She quickly caught on that he was having an affair and she left him. Poseidon was outraged. He left their apartment screaming and yelling about how he never wanted to see her again and when she needed him most, he wouldn't be there. And I'm sorry to say this, Percy, but he kept his promise."

"What do you mean?"

"That's not important right now."

"But it's important to _me."_

"Anyway, back to the story," Walter continued, ignoring my statement completely. "Poseidon and Sally divorced and he later remarried to Amphitrite which is how your half brothers came along."

"Half brothers? Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me I have other family that I had no idea exists? Why aren't I going to stay with them? Why do I have to live here and not there?"

"Once again, it's not important so I suggest you stop asking because I can't and won't answer you're question. You're wasting your breath."

Just as I opened my mouth to retort, he said:

"We're here." He hopped out of the driver's seat and hurried to get my bags.

As I stepped out of the car, I took in my surrounds and- _Oh my gods._ The house that stood before me couldn't have shocked me more even if it grew bunnies ears and called itself the Easter Bunny. It was enormous and as you can imagine, incredibly expensive. Now, I expected a big, crazy fancy house, but this, this is not a house. This was a mansion on steroids. With its brown, clay bricks and high, marble pillars outlined in gold, it could have easily been worth over 2 million dollars which I don't doubt the Chase's paid without putting a dent into their bank accounts. Tall windows covered the brick and because they lacked curtains, you could see into almost every room of the house. From where I stood in front of the house, I could see a giant in-ground pool with a diving board and waterslide that appeared to be 9 feet tall in the backyard. The driveway was pale concrete with three of the most jaw-dropping cars I'd ever seen. Two Ferraris, one lime green and the other a cool blue, and a fiery red Maserati Spyder that I'd do anything to take a spin in.

"Like what you see?" Walter asked, standing beside me . I hadn't even realized he was still there. I nodded, still trying to wrap my mind around this place.

"I can tell." He replied, placing his hand under my jaw to push my mouth closed. I haven't even seen the rest of the house and my eyes are already as wide as golf balls. I wonder how I'll look when the tour's over. Probably like a statue caught mid-scream. Or with my luck, I'd probably start drooling. That'll make a great first impression to the Chase's.

Walter walked me to the front door and pounded with the golden knocker attached to the solid wood. Almost instantaneously, the door opened and revealed two young boys who are no doubt Bobby and Matthew.

"Are you, Percy?" The one on the left asked.

"Yeah. And you're… Matthew?" I said, unsure of which twin was which.

"No," he grumbled, " I'm Bobby. He's Matthew. Everybody gets it wrong." Okay, so Bobby is the one with the blue shirt and Matthew is the one with the green shirt on. Alright, that makes things a bit easier.

"I'm sorry. Hi, Bobby. Hey, Matthew."

"Hello." They replied in unison.

"Come on in." Said Matthew, spreading his arms in an exaggerated gesture.

"Make yourself at home." Bobby joined in, mimicking his brother's hand movements. I laughed. _I like these guys already. _

"Thanks." I walked between them into the living room which was just as nice as the outside. Upon walking in, there's a huge, stone fireplace right in front of you. To your left you'd find, a wall made entirely of glass and another huge flat screen taking up the whole wall beside it and a soft white carpet with a couch to match. A dark wooden table sat in front of the couch with a bouquet of flowers, all with vibrant summery colors. To the right, there's a marble staircase with a polished wooden railing alongside it, leading to the upper levels of the house.

"Mom, Dad, Percy's here." Bobby shouted, his words echoing through the room.

Fredrick and Martha walked down the steps, looking awfully dressed up for just being in their home. Mr. Chase wore a suit similar to Walter's, but his suit was more of a charcoal gray and his tie was blue while Walter's was black. Mrs. Chase wore a silky green, party dress with sparkly gray heels. Her earrings matched the color of the dress and were shaped like stars which I found appropriate considering the whole family was…well…stars.

Mr. Chase was the first to speak when they reached the bottom of the steps.

"Percy, it's so wonderful to finally meet you. I'm Fredrick and this is my wife, Martha," He said, gesturing to his wife who stood beside him. " I see you've already met the boys." Sending them a knowing smile, he ruffled their blond hair that perfectly matched his own.

"They've been so excited that there's going to be another boy in the house. They try to play all their games with Annabeth, but she has absolutely no interest in that." Martha added.

"Well, I'd be happy to play with them. I've always wanted a brother and I think mom wanted another son, too, but she never found another guy that she really loved. After my dad, she hardly even dated."

"You're clothes are upstairs, Percy. Go change and we'll get going." She said, clearly trying to change the subject before we venture too far into the topic of my mom. I silently thanked her. I don't want the boys asking me about her; it's too soon for that.

Registering what she said, confusion swept over me. _Clothes? I have clothes. Just because I live with them now, are they going to make me change my style? I don't like dress shirts and slacks that make you feel suffocated with the thick material. I want my clothes, my old t-shirts and ripped up jeans._

"Umm…clothes?"

"Yes, it was supposed to be a surprise, but we wanted to celebrate your arrival by throwing you a party. All of our closest friends will be there and it'll help you to get acquainted to everyone. It's at the Castellan's house; we were going to have it here, but their house is bigger and far nicer than ours." I didn't know how that was possible considering this house was by far the most amazing I'd ever seen.

"Go get dressed. Then, I'll fetch Annabeth and we can go," Mr. Chase said. "Matthew and Bobby will show you to your room."

"Alright. Thank you, Mr. Chase."

"Please, call me Fredrick. Mr. Chase makes me feel old." He replied with a chuckle.

"Then, thank you, Fredrick."

"There, that sounds better."

"Let's go, Percy." The twins exclaimed, leading me up the steps and down a hallway lined with doors on the second floor. Three of the doors were ajar, two on the left side of the hall and one on the right. The first door on the left was a bathroom, the third door on the right was a bedroom with bunk beds, loads of videogames, and Legos which were strewn across the navy blue carpeting. The walls were painted a forest green. It was obvious that this was Bobby and Matthew's room.

Then, the boys stopped at the sixth door on the left, which was the last one that stood open, and walked inside.

"Welcome to your room," they said simultaneously before bowing dramatically. _It's creepy how they can talk at the same time. Must be a twins thing._

The room had a king-size bed covered with a fluffy, white comforter. Two brown pillows laid at the head of the bed as decoration. There was a small window looking out across the yard and a bedside table on the left side of the bed. A TV was in there, too, which wasn't much of a surprise considering there seemed to be one in every room. The walls were white and bare which kind of bummed me out. Back home, my walls were painted an ocean blue-my favorite color- which reminded me of the sea and brought back happy memories of my mother and I's annual trips to Montauk.

"It looks lame now, but you can put up posters and stuff to make it look less plain." Matthew said.

"Yeah, it used to be the guest room so there's not much in here, but you can get it painted to make it more homey if you want." Bobby added in.

"Thanks, guys. You're really making me feel more at home."

"Your welcome, Percy. Whatever you need, we got your back."

I smiled, a real genuine smile, the first real one since my mother.

"We'll let you get dressed. You're clothes are on the table beside the bed."

They left quietly, closing the door behind them.

Before I got here, I'd thought it'd be awful and I'd hate it immediately, but honestly, with those little guys around, it won't be that bad. They're funny and adorable and they could keep me company. And I could keep them company, especially because Annabeth seems to be doing a poor job at it.

I dressed quickly, hurriedly buttoning the buttons of my sky blue dress shirt before pulling on the black slacks and buttoning them, as well. Slipping the loafers onto my feet-how they knew my shoe size, I have no idea-I left the room and took the stairs two at time.

When I reached the bottom, I found the Chase's standing in front of the front door, waiting for me expectantly. But now, I saw a new face among the crowd and she was even more beautiful in person than the photo in my file. Her blond hair ended just above the middle of her back and was curled in perfect ringlets that I knew were natural. She had flawless, sun-kissed skin that made mine look almost transparent and the most amazing gray eyes I'd ever seen. Her dress was a radiant red that shimmered whenever she moved with matching heels clad on her feet. To say she looked good would be the biggest understatement of the century. She looked stunning.

"Ah, Percy, there you are. Ready to go?" Mr. Chase asked.

I nodded, unsure whether or not I could speak after seeing his daughter.

"Good. Let's get going then. Don't want to be late for your own party." He joked.

They led me out the front door and to the limo I'd arrived in. Walter stood in front of it, posture still as straight as a ruler. _Does that man ever let loose?_ When he saw us, he nodded at Mr. Chase and sent a small smile my way, opening the door for us as he had before.

We climbed into the limo and sat in the smooth leather seats. Well, the Chase's sat gracefully while I slumped in the seat. Feeling out of place as they eyed me critically, I quickly straightened to mirror Mr. Chase and the others, crossing my ankles and folding my hands in my lap.

"So, Percy, what was it like in New York?" Bobby asked curiously.

"It was good except it's really noisy with all the traffic and people, but it's really a beautiful place. I loved looking up at the skyscrapers and just marveling at how tall they were. One of my favorite things was this place called Montauk and my mom and I would go all the time together. I think that's what I'm going to miss most of all from New York."

"Sounds like a nice place."

"It was."

"Where did you go to school?" Mrs. Chase asked.

"Goode High."

"Oh, Fredrick, that's where you went, wasn't it?"

"Yes, I went to Goode. I'm not sure you know this, but I went to school with your mother back when I lived in New York."

"Walter told me. He said you guys were close."

"We were, but then we grew apart. We didn't start talking again until she left your father."

Before I could respond, Matthew shouted:

"We're here." I joined the boys by the window and looked out with them. The Castellan's house was nice, but in my opinion, not nearly as nice as the Chase's.

The house was a pale blue and just as big as Mr. Chase's house, maybe even a bit smaller. It had similar pillars, too, but they seemed oddly out of place while the Chase's seemed to mesh with the house perfectly. There were two smaller windows positioned beside the front door covered with thin white curtains. The backyard was amazing. A concert stage was built next to a row of tennis courts that were placed just in front of what looked like a go-kart track. A sparkling fountain stood tall in the very center of the yard, shooting crystal clear water through a spout on a statue of a man holding a stick with two snakes coiled around it. _A caduceus. Hermes. _That's right. Luke's father is Hermes Castellan, one of the best travel agents you could ask for, but for a high price.

The whole was house was magnificent, but compared to the Chase's, it seemed like nothing special. It was hard to believe that Martha Chase thought this house was nicer than their's. It may have had some nice touches like the go-kart track, but I'd pick the swimming pool over the tennis courts any day.

I followed the Chase's into the house and was met with partygoers everywhere. Some were talking, others dancing, singing along to a song I was unfamiliar with. One couple was making out on a couch in the far corner of the living room and another was staggering around, their words slurred.

Mr. Chase led us further into the house to the basement where we were bombarded with people, asking questions and smiling, patting me on the back, introducing themselves. So many voices spoke at one time, making it impossible for me to tell who was saying what.

"Enough, enough, the boy's not used to so much attention at one time." Mr. Chase shouted to be heard over the booming voices.

The crowd slowly receded and went back to what they were previously doing.

The Chase's dispersed and went their own separate ways, doing Zeus knows what.

I stood by myself, unsure of what I should do and where I should go.

Suddenly, I caught sight of Annabeth walking back up the stairs. Deciding it was between standing there like a loner and following her, I quickly ascended the steps. When I reached the top, I lost sight of her in the mass of people. I circled around the house until I found her sitting in a rocking chair tucked nicely in the corner of the living room, eyes glued to her IPhone 5.

I shouldered my way past the party guests and stood beside the arm of the chair.

"Hey. I don't think we've been introduced, but I'm-"

"I know who you are," Annabeth said, her eyes never leaving the screen. "And I don't care so leave me be and do whatever strange, poor people do."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know anyone here and was wondering if I could…maybe…hang out with you."

She laughed, right in my face. But it was humorless and cruel. "Okay, take a look at you and then, look at me. See the difference? I'm rich, popular, famous, and pretty and what are you? A lonely little loser who has absolutely no future, no money, and nowhere else to go. Being seen with someone like you is social suicide. I might as well hang a sign around my neck that says "I'm with living with a dirty orphan whose mommy didn't want him."

My blood boiled in my veins, ignighting into a bright flame that can only be tamed if I shot down Big Head and her enormous ego.

"I'll have you know my mother cared about me, loved me." I shouted, my voice reaching an earsplitting pitch.

"Then, why'd she ship you off to live with us so she could live her happy pappy life?" She spat cruelly, matching my tone perfectly.

"Because if you weren't so caught up in yourself you'd know that she's dead. She died in a car accident. She was rear ended by a drunk driver on her way to the grocery story and swerved out of control. She was killed on impact, but you'd know that if you cared about anyone but yourself for once, you narcissistic bitch!" Now, I was furious. She can belittle me, but there is no way in hell she's going to talk about my mom.

Annabeth gasped, eyes wide, mouth ajar, her fair skin pale.

"Oh my gods. Percy, I didn't know. I-"

"You would if you'd get your head out of the clouds and back down to earth." My voice was calmer now. Reality settled in and I came back from my monster-like rampage. The party was silent, not a soul moved, not a voice was heard, no sound emitted from the radio. Everyone was dead quiet and listening to our exchange.

I turned away, unable to stand another minute of looking at Annabeth, and sprinted through the house as fast as my legs could carry me. Stopping at the bathroom, I pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing and locking the door behind me. And broke down into tears, sliding down the wall behind me as I blubbered like a baby.

This was how I'd imagined living with the Chase's. Feeling like I out of place, unwanted, unloved, and now my biggest fear just came true. I didn't fit in, I didn't belong and I certainly never would, as Annabeth just made clear as day. No one cared, no one. They don't care, all this stupid family does is make me feel inferior to them. I'm just their charity project to look good for the press. That's all I'll ever be. My mom used to tell me that all I'll ever need to be was myself, but now everything is so strange, different, alien. I'm being forced into fancy clothes, going to house parties in multi-million dollar houses crawling with celebrities. Now being me feels like a bad thing, now I stand out and aren't accepted, loved, like I'd been back home. But no matter what, I won't let them change me. As my mom once said, "Don't change for anyone, but yourself, Percy. If you like the way you are, then stay that way. You're a wonderful person and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." And I like the way I am. I won't change and not a soul could make me. Not the Castellan's, not the Chase's, not Walter, not anyone. When I turn 18 and leave to get on with my life, I'll be the same walking out as I had been walking in.

So, if Miss Priss wants to change that, she better bring a mop to wipe up her tears when she fails miserably. She wants to make my life hell; well, two can play at that game.

_Best of luck, Chase. You don't know it yet, but you're gonna need it._

Let the games begin.

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**Hello, wonderful readers. Hope you like the chapter. Leave a review and tell me what you think. Continue? Don't continue? Love it? Hate it? Let me know. **

**OH and a huge thank you goes out to those who have read/reviewed/followed/ favorited my other Percy Jackson story, Inmate 518. If you haven't read it yet, give it a shot. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.**

**Thanks,**

**~TwistedTrident~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, readers! Sorry that I took so long to update. I'd planned to upload this chapter days ago, but was busy with school and had been sick for a few days. But I'm feeling much better now and finished the chapter for you guys. **

**This chapter doesn't have a Percy vs. Annabeth brawl because I wanted to a) show that Annabeth does indeed have a heart and b) to strengthen Percy and Mr. Chase's bond. But don't worry, there will be plenty of shouts, door slams, insults, and...payback next chapter. ;)**

**Thank you all so much for the reviews. They made me smile. :) So enough of my blabbing and on to the chapter!**

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**Chapter 2**

**Annabeth's Pov**

Terrible. That's how I feel right now. Absolutely, 100% terrible. Never had I intended to hurt Percy. I'd only planned on pushing him away. Because when you push people away, it hurts far less when they walk out of your life, sometimes for good. I know from personal experience; its happened countless times. When I'd become famous my number one moral was to not turn out like all those other bad apples, the arrogant snobs who think everyone loves them and anyone who didn't, they'd destroy every hope and dream they had. And I'd just broken it. The look on poor Percy's face when I'd taken his living nightmare that occurred just days ago and thrown it back in his face was when my biggest fear was confirmed. I'd become one of those celebrities, I'd become one of those fire-breathing monsters that seek out good things and set them aflame.

And I hated it.

I sat, unmoving, in the same spot as when Percy had run off, staring aimlessly into space in self-loathing. Not once in my life had I hated myself more than I had at this moment. The boy had just lost his mom, his whole world was flipped around; if anyone understood that, I did. And here I was being an inconsiderate jerk who'd just tore open the wound, the wound Percy was trying so hard to heal from. Not that I'd known of his situation at the time when I'd spoken those words, but I could have prevented everything that's occurred tonight. If only I hadn't locked myself in my room and went downstairs to greet him like my brothers, maybe even had a conversation, and then, maybe I would've known about his mother. Maybe I could've spared him the pain I'd just caused.

I wanted to go after him and apologize, make him see how truly sorry I am, but I knew it was better this way. Better for him to believe me as cruel and selfish. If I don't get attached, I won't get hurt. I won't be hurt when he leaves like the others. Like Malcom, Thalia, Grover, Nico… But I suppose I can only blame myself. I'm the reason they don't come around anymore. I'm to blame.

"Dinner!" Hermes Castellan bellowed. Whenever the Castellans throw a party, they insist they prepare a feast for all the guests held in the dining hall. They claim it's common courtesy, but I have a theory May Castellan only wants everyone to compliment her food.

Rising from the rocking chair, I made my way to the dining hall through the house that I'd practically grown up in. You see, Hermes's son, Luke, was my best friend growing up. We'd met in kindergarten and immediately hit it off. Which may seem kind of odd considering we both had differing personalities. I was the quiet, smart, goody goody one while he was the outgoing, mischievous prankster, placing thumb tacks on the teacher's chair when she wasn't looking. But you know what they say, opposites attract.

Entering the dining hall, I settled into a seat at the left side of the long, rectangular table, my father on my left and Bobby on my right with Mr. Castellan at the head. I scanned all the faces crowded around the table, but came up short. The person I was searching for didn't appear to be eating tonight. Everyone found a seat and chattered quietly among themselves before the waiters emerged from the kitchen doors that swayed as they exited, carrying platter after platter of Mrs. Castellan's delicacies which they placed carefully on the shiny wood. And left as fast as they'd come.

"May, everything looks divine." Said a brunette woman whose name I couldn't recall.

"Indeed it does," Hermes replied, flashing his wife a blinding smile. "But the real reason we're here isn't for the food, but to help Percy, the boy living with Mr. Chase, here," Hermes gestured to my dad before continuing, "feel more welcome."

Glancing around, his expression confused, Hermes asked:

"Speaking of Percy, where is he?"

"Um, Percy isn't hun-" I began, making an excuse for Percy's absence, when I was interrupted by the clanking of soled shoes hitting the sparkling tile floor. Turning my head toward the noise, my eyes met sea green ones and I inwardly sighed a breath of relief. _Phew. Thank you, Percy, you just helped me dodge a bullet._

Without speaking, he strode forward and sat himself in the only unoccupied seat remaining, furthest away from me. I couldn't blame him; after everything that went down, I'd want to be far away from me, too.

"Ah, there you are. Glad to see that you joined us." Hermes exclaimed. "Now, let us eat the first course." He clapped his hands twice and the waiters reappeared, bringing steaming bowls of soup and setting them before each and every person, careful not to spill a single drop.

The guests lifted their spoons, sipping the soup gracefully after gently blowing on the liquid to cool. Conversation picked up all around, jumbling into a series of uncomprehendable words, difficult for the human ear to make out. I only managed to catch a few words that rang louder than the others: "Red Carpet", "New album", "Annabeth". Random words and names from random conversations. People thoroughly enjoyed the festivitities at these feasts even Percy seemed to be content, chatting enthusiastically about an unknown topic with Rachel Dare, a famous artist with work not even Van Gough could compete with, creating masterpieces with such precision and beauty that they could bring even Ares to tears.

I felt genuinely happy for Percy. He'd finally found someone his own age who'd been remotely nice to him. As I ate, I felt unusually lighter, like all the dread of seeing Percy evaporated off my shoulders into thin air, until-

_Slurp!_

The table grew silent as the guests stared appalled, eyes directed at Percy who sat confused, looking back and forth like a lost little puppy.

Soft murmurs broke out of the quiet:

"Was he raised in a barn?"

"Does he not know that you sip, not slurp? Disgusting."

"Absolutely sickening."

He'd made his first error. An error I knew these people would find repulsive, but seemed like a minor mistake to me. So he slurped the soup, big deal. I don't really see why that's of any concern to them.

"It was an honest mistake so will all of you just drop it and go back to whatever you were doing." I stood up for him, I had to. I couldn't let these inconsiderate people make him feel anymore different than he felt already.

They hushed their judgemental whispers and conversations were resumed like it had never happened.

I looked back and Percy who mouthed a silent "_thank you". _Smiling in return, I proceeded eating dinner, which fortunately, concluded without a hitch.

We'd arrived home later that night, drained from the long day, especially Percy who passed out on the couch not two minutes after we'd returned home. He was lucky he could sleep because I, on the other hand, couldn't get an ounce of it. My mind was swimming with thoughts, most of which were embarrassingly about Percy. There's something about him that makes him seem unforgettable. Maybe it's his tousled, jet-black hair, or his beautiful green eyes, or his handsome fa- Wait, wait. Back up. Beautiful? Handsome? I used to think my brothers were crazy, but maybe I'm the one who's short a few marbles. Because I don't think Percy is either of those things. Or so I tried to tell myself. But every time I repeated it in my mind, I believed it less and less until I came to the startling realization that I indeed found Percy Jackson undoubtedly…attractive.

_Oh, man, just what I need. Another distraction from my song writing. _

_Wish me luck, people, because I'm gonna need it._

**Percy's Pov**

_2 weeks later_

A lot has happened in so little time. I was enrolled into a private school known as Yancy Academy. At first, I hated it, but then, I made some new friends, Grover, Nico, and Thalia, who help make the day less heinous. I'd also brought my once-failing grades up to above average, thanks to Grover, of course. Mr. Chase had insisted on constructing a memorial in the backyard for my mom which I talk to daily like she's there listening. Bobby and Matthew think it's insane, but I find it soothing like one of her comforting hugs. For my seventeenth birthday, I'd gotton a car. It wasn't super fancy like Annabeth's, but I didn't want it to be. I was happy with it; its simplicity made me feel like a normal teenage boy who didn't live with gazillionaires. Annabeth never formally apologized for what she said, but I knew she was beating herself up for it and I forgave her. We haven't talked or even become close to friends, but we're at peace…for now. Especially because we haven't exactly had time to fight; Annabeth's been so busy with her new album that she barely has time to brush her hair anymore.

_Speaking of her hair, I wonder if it's as soft as it looks. _I rested my head on my forearms and sleep came upon me. My dream was rather...odd. _A beautiful blonde, who I immediately recognized as Annabeth, stood beside me. But she was different, she spoke to me gently, kindly, which was a major shock to my system. I dreamed were both on a beautiful beach, the blue water crystal clear, the sun's rays shining brightly, but not blindingly, warming us from head to toe, the silky soft sand squishing beneath our toes. A soft breezed drifted by, blowing Annabeth's hair behind her as she gazed at the horizon, transfixed by its beauty, before throwing a loving glance my way. Her gray orbs sparkled will love and compassion, a look no different was mirrored in my own eyes. She turned her body so she faced me and her mouth stretched into a mischievous smile before she leaned forward for a kiss. Our lips were millimeters apart when-_

_Whack!_

Jerking awake and back to reality, I noticed Ms. Dodds, scowl on her face, arms crossed, a ruler clutched in her hand, staring at me expectantly.

"Mr. Jackson, now that you've finally stopped acting like a pucker fish, will you or will you not answer the question?"

"Umm…question?" _Pucker fish?_ I glanced around and noticed the other students making kissy faces at me and I realized when dream Annabeth went to kiss me, I embarrassingly puckered up my lips. And the entire class was there to see it. I blushed a deep red.

"Yes, the one on the board," She rolled her eyes like she couldn't believe I'd just said that. "Solve the problem using the quadratic formula." The way she spoke gave me the impression she thought I was an idiot. She held out her left hand which was holding a dry erase marker and placed it in my own. I rose from my desk, approached the board, and paused, having no clue how to solve the equation. My dyslexia did nothing but make the problem unsolvable for me, the letters and numbers jumbling together, switching them around until the former problem was unrecognizable.

When she saw my hesitation, Ms. Dodds chuckled humorously to herself, openly mocking me in front of the rest of the class.

Minutes ticked by one by one, my mind as blank as the sheets of paper in notebook, no clue how to even begin the equation.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know how to solve the problem." My voice was eerily calm as I barely managed to bite back the words I so desperately wanted to shout at her.

"Pity," She said, sounding more amused than sorry for me. Ms. Dodds angled her body toward the class, gesturing to me. "Class, I couldn't honestly care less about your academic futures, but god forbid you turn out like him. Poor boy doesn't even know how to read let alone solve a simple equation. Although the majority of you will kill most of your brain cells by being unbelievably stupid, at least try to have more than this boy, which shouldn't be too hard considering he's probably close to the negatives." She wiped away an imaginary tear before a huge smile lit up her face.

That's when I snapped. And by snapped I mean, exploded. All my anger burst out of me and into the sharp words that left my lips.

"How dare you say that to me! Granted, I'm not super mega smart like some of the other kids and that's not my fault. I have dyslexia, the words flip around and I can't make them out. But at least, I'm not some old hag who probably banged the professor to get her teaching degree. Because there is no way in hell they'd give you one otherwise. So you can take your dumb, little, math problem and shove it and this marker right up your fat ass." I threw the mark down and sucked in a breath, releasing it slowly through my nose in an attempt to calm myself.

Ms. Dodds scowling face took on a snarl and reddened until she was the color of tomato. A gutteral growl erupted from deep in her throat and she lunged for me, fisting her wrinkling, crooked fingers in the front of my school uniform, which was an ugly shade of maroon. We were nose to nose and I could smell the stench of her stale breath, see the glint of hatred in her eyes as she fixed them so they locked on to mine.

"Not only am I going to fail you, Mr. Jackson, but I'm also going to recommend you for expulsion. So you can kiss your grade, your school, and the pride your "family" has for you goodbye. Now go down to the office and get out of my sight." She hissed at me, her voice only a whisper, but was just as menacing as if she'd been screaming at the top of her lungs.

Sending her a glare I hoped displayed how much I loathed her, I turned and grasped the siver handle of the door, yanking it open and slamming it shut as I left the room.

I was angry. No, furious that she could treat someone like that and get away with it like no one could touch her, but at the same time, I felt an indescribable satisfaction. Despite the fact I was most likely going to get kicked out of Yancy, I was glad I'd said what I did, someone need to say it and I'd been the one who had the guts to do it. Mr. Chase would no doubt be angry with me-he's pretty strict when it comes to school-, but right at the moment, I didn't care. Ms. Dodds had blown up like a bomb and I'd been the one who'd lit the match. And I was proud of it.

I made the last turn down the hallway and came to the dark wooden door with the words **Principal's office** etched in black lettering on the surface of the rectangular window cut into the door. Twisting the knob, I stepped into the threshold and let the door close behind me.

"Mr. D?" I called, settling myself down in a wooden chair in front of his desk, glancing around the room until my eyes landed on a leopard head hung on the wall. I stood and examined the head, tracing my index finger along it's razor sharp teeth that were bared and exposed by its mouth, which was opened mid-roar.

"What do you think you're doing?"A booming voice rang from behind me, causing me to jump and accidently knock the leopard head off the wall. I spun around toward the person who'd spoken and was met with our rather….odd looking principal.

I'd never seen the principle before, I'd never needed to, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to see him again. He was a pudgy, middle-aged man with dark black hair so curly it would put anyone's curls to shame. Except maybe for Annabeth's. His big, glossy eyes were sunken and rimmed with red. His chubby cheeks were a vibrant red, almost like he'd gotten a really bad sunburn or applied way too much blush this morning. And I'm not going to lie, he kind of looked like an alcoholic going through withdrawls.

"If you could pick up Seymour and put him back, it would be much appreciated." I picked up the head and placed it back on the hook that jutted out of the wall. "Anyway, I'm assuming you're Perry Johnson."

"Actually, it's Percy Jackson, sir." I corrected.

"Well, Perry, I heard about what happened and I contacted a Mr. Fredrick Chase. He's on his way; he should be here any mome-"

"He's here." Mr. Chase said as he strode into the room and sat himself down in the seat where I'd plopped into before the whole Seymour issue.

Mr. D sank heavily into his leather, swivel chair and looked at me expectantly. I took a seat and waited for him to speak.

"Your…erm….responsibility was caught verbally assaulting his math teacher, Ms. Dodds. The poor, old woman said she was simply trying to teach her class when the boy shot from his seat and began shouting at her. She said he was relentless and not only insulted her, but also made a mockery of her class. She plans to fail the boy and wishes for him to be expelled from Yancy." He stated matter of factly, a small smile lifting the corner of his mouth as if he thoroughly enjoyed expelling innocent students.

"I didn't do that! She's making that stuff up; she mocked and insulted me, not the other way around. Ms. Dodds is just acting like a helpless, little, old lady so she doesn't get fired." I was quick to defend myself because one: that's not what happened at all, and two: I'm not going to sit here and get labeled as the guy who bullies old ladies.

"And I should believe you, why exactly?" Mr. D asked, his tone bored, rolling his eyes.

"Because it's true. I'd never say those things without a good reason and there was. She was making fun of me because I have dyslexia and couldn't solve her damn math problem."

Mr. D laughed at that, clearly disbelieving that that "sweet, old woman" had anything to do with that.

"You believe me, don't you?" I asked Mr. Chase, my eyes pleading for him to trust me on this.

He was quiet for so long that I thought he didn't even hear me, but eventually, he spoke, loud and proud.

"Yes. Yes, I do." I smiled and he returned it before turning to Mr. D. "If Percy says he didn't do it, then he didn't."

"Well, then, that settles it. Perry Johnson will be expelled from Yancy Academy."

"How does that settle anything?"

"I don't believe either of you, Mr. Chase. Perry, here, has been quite the troublemaker these past few weeks and I wouldn't be surprised if he'd done this."

"His name is Percy. Per-cy, not Per-ry. Hear the difference?" _Uh oh. Fredrick's getting mad._ His voice was raised, his hands clenched open and closed at his sides, his face turning an angry shade of red. Despite the storm that was going to unfold, I felt happy that Mr. Chase had stood up for me when no one else would. It made me feel like he really did care about me and I wasn't just some charity project. "Were you there watching as Percy did what you said he'd done? Hmm? Were you there?" Mr. D remaind silent and once Mr. Chase was sure he wasn't going to answer he continued. "Didn't think so. Now if you weren't there, how do know that Percy had done that? Are you sure he's not telling the truth?" Mr. D nodded his head, up and down. "Don't you dare lie to me. My wife, Athena, had built this school for you when she was alive, it's in my name, therefore, it's my school; I sign your checks and if you don't change your judgement, they might just stop coming in the mail."

"Alright, alright. I didn't see him do it. Hell, I didn't even know he was in Ms. Dodds's class. I'm sorry, okay? _Percy _will be allowed to continue attending school at Yancy. Once again, I am very sorry, sir." Mr. D's words intermingling as he rushed the words out of his mouth as fast as he could.

"Ahh, so now you sing a different tune. Mr. D, thank you for seeing reason." Fredrick said. "It was a pleasure meeting you." He added sarcastically, rolling his eyes before rising from his chair and leading me out of the office, to the parking lot, to his car. We climbed into the blue Ferrari and drove off.

We rode in silence, not used to being the only two in the car. Normally, when Mr. Chase and I are together, the rest of the family is with us, making it hard for us to converse just between the two of us. We weren't close, not really, and we hardly ever talked about just everyday things, man to man. But I'm hoping I can change that because I wanted him to be the dad I'd always wanted, the dad I'd always dreamed of having, the dad I'd always hoped for, the dad who didn't make my mother cry whenever he barged into our apartment, demanding custody of me. I wanted that, I wanted Mr. Chase to be the man my dead beat dad hadn't.

"Thank you, Mr Cha-I mean, Fredrick. What you did back there, I really appreciate it." I said not only to thank him, but to break the ice and maybe start a conversation.

"Your welcome, Percy. That principal you've got is an excuse for a man. Honestly, no heart at all. Here you are begging for him to trust you and he completely ignores the obvious truth. I could see it in your eyes, Percy, I could see the honesty there, and I know Dionysus saw it, too. A person can lie with their mouth all they want, but they can't lie with their eyes, the eyes tell the truth. And no matter how hard a person tries to change that, it will never work. The eyes are windows to the soul, they show your fears, insecurities, joy… If your ever not sure if someone's lying to you, Percy, just look into their eyes. Look and you shall find the answer."

His advice was good and would no doubt come in handy for me some day and I wanted to tell him that, but thought it would be better to try to break the serious air that had just been released into the small confines of his car.

"Woah, Fredrick, that's really deep." I said jokingly, smiling slightly to show that despite my jab at a joke, that he didn't just waste his breath telling me that.

"About as deep as a kiddie pool." He replied, a deep rumbling chuckle sounded throughout the car.

We'd joked and laughed all the way back to the house, telling patheticly cheesy jokes, ranging from knock knock jokes to Yo Mama jokes.

And that, my friends, is how I'd broken the ice between Mr. Chase and I, shattered the awkward barrier that'd become a shell around the both of us, and for just a moment, I forgot that Mr. Chase was only a man I'd met two weeks ago, for just a moment he'd felt like a dad, my dad, the fatherly figure I'd always dreamed of.

And that's all I could ever ask for.

* * *

**So that's it! Hope you liked it and leave a review and let me know what you think! How 'bout we go for 14 reviews for this story. We need 7 more. **

**Anyway, prepare yourself for next chapter. That's when things get interesting. ;)**

**~TwistedTrident~**


	3. Chapter 3

** Hey, guys. So sorry for the late update. My computer was being stupid and I went on a long labor day vacation and unfortunately, where I was staying didn't have WiFi. So really sorry about that. But anyway, here's chapter 3.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Percy Pov**

Saturday. I loved Saturday. No school, no bothersome teachers, no worries, no waking up early. The week had ended on a good note. Ms. Dodds had been fired for the harassment of a student and had been replaced by Mr. Brunner, but he insisted on being called Chiron. He was an older man, probably early sixties, and had a scraggly, brown beard and big, brown eyes shining with wisdom and knowledge. He'd been confined to a wheelchair after he'd slipped and fallen down a flight of stairs slicked with a thin patch of ice. His back took the brunt of the fall and he was rushed to the hospital immediately. The damage was irreversible, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, stuck in his wheelchair. Despite his injury, he seemed like a very happy man who thoroughly enjoyed himself…and his wheelchair, considering he loved to pop a wheelie in the middle of the halls, a look of satisfaction on his face as if to say _Yep, I've still got it. _

Besides Mr. Brunner livening up Math class, the rest of school still bores me to tears and makes the rough surface of my desk feel like a pillow. Well, it does for the second I have my head down before my teachers slammed a book on my desk or shout at me to go to bed early instead of snoozing in their class while they're trying to teach. But what's the fun in that. Anyway, that explains why I'm dead tired and sleeping in or was sleeping in until-

_ Strum!_

Music notes from a guitar seeped through the thin, plaster wall and floated right into my ears. I yanked a pillow behind my head, pushing the sides into my ears to prevent the noise from reaching them. Unfortunately, my attempt was futile and the rhythm flowed around in head. It's not like the music was bad, but to sleep with an electric guitar blasting through your ear drums makes it no easy task. Once the ear-splitting sounds became too much for me to bare, I formed my hand into a fist and pounded on the wall, shouting at the only musically talented person in the whole house to shut the hell up and let me sleep. To which Annabeth had responded to by turning up the speakers to a shrill pitch so loud my eardrums would no doubt burst if I listened a second longer.

Rolling out of bed and striding toward my bedroom door with a purpose, I crossed the hall and burst into the room across from mine, the doorknob vibrating and shaking with the loud beats.

Upon entering, I found Annabeth standing in the center of her room, her fingers sliding across the strings, strumming away on a sleek, black electric guitar, head bopping to the beat. She read from a pink notebook that was placed on a black music stand that she'd written the notes and the lyrics in. Either she didn't notice that I'd come into her room or she just didn't care because she didn't look at me, didn't even acknowledge me, until I stomped over to the booming speakers and yanked the out the cord, silencing the house at last.

Annabeth spun around, her face a mask of fury that I'd interrupted her in the middle of her song, and she yanked the guitar strap over her head and set the instrument in the corner of her room.

"What the hell, Percy? Couldn't you see I was totally rocking that?" She shouted at me, her cheeks colored an angry red.

"Couldn't you see that it's early and I'm trying to sleep?" I hissed back just as snarkily, getting right in her face until we were nose to nose.

"Early?!" She said, rolling her gray eyes at me, causing the storm clouds within them to stir. "It's 12:00, it's lunchtime, and last time I checked, that isn't early."

"It is to me. Because unlike someone, I have to up at 6 freaking 30 to go to school and none of my teachers let me sleep in their classes. And it's not like I can sleep tomorrow because your mom is hosting that stupid brunch with her friends from the country club. So my only time to get any rest at all is on Saturday, which is today so stop playing that damn music and get some fresh air or something. You've been locked in this room since Monday, working on Hades know what."

_ "_Step mom."

"What?"

"She's not my mom, she's my step mom."

"Step mom. Whatever."

"And why don't you just sleep in when I leave at 2:00?"

"Because your dad's making me go to your damn photo shoot so we can "learn to get along"."

She groaned.

"Of course. They want to put my face on Seventeen magazine and this lunatic will have to be there to see it. Wow, I'm so happy." She said dryly, not an ounce of enthusiasm in her tone. "And by the way," She said, adding this as an after thought, "I now know why you never had a girlfriend."

"And why is that?" I replied, mocking the same dry tone she'd used earlier. I knew she was going to insult me, which was exactly what I wanted. If a fight's what she wanted, a fight's what she'll get and this time I'm not prepared to lose.

"You're a Greek Freak."

"Yeah, so?"

"What kind of pathetic dork likes the Greek gods? Girls like big, macho, athletic guys, not boys who obsess over Medusa and that wine guy." She squeaked out in between fits of laughter, clutching her stomach as the giggles escaped her. "And don't even get me started on your face, that's another reason why girls don't like you. Thousands of dollars worth of costume makeup wouldn't be able to make that face pretty, I'll tell you that."

Self-consciously, I ran my hand down my cheek, feeling the stubble that ran across my jaw. _Do people really think that? Nah, she's just doing that to upset me. Right?_

"You know Annabeth, I've seen a few of your music videos-" I began before she interrupted me saying:

"Wow, I'm flattered." Sarcasm rolled over her tongue and oozed off her words.

"-and I noticed in every single one the lighting was dark. And I just wanted to say that was a very smart idea on your part; If you'd have done otherwise, you wouldn't have any fans. They'd be too haunted by your appearance to watch you."

"Haunted by how they wish they looked?"

"No, silly, haunted by the face of a hideous bitch. Thank the gods you have to go through hair and makeup before a performance or the whole auditorium would rush out of there in a heartbeat, screaming for help from the big, ugly monster that's eaten Annabeth Chase."

"Well at least I'm not stupid."

"Wow, what a comeback. I'm down for the count because you just knocked me out cold." I hissed sarcastically, flinging my arms out dramatically.

"I'll give you a comeback when I knock out those crooked, hillbilly teeth." She threatening raised her arm, fist directed at me , like she was going to throw a punch.

"I'd love to see you try. With these noodle arms," I lifted her arm that wasn't raised and wiggled it around, indicating the obviously lacking muscle embedded there, "I'd be surprised if you could knock a bug out of the sky, let alone knock out my teeth."

"Well, I-"

"Enough." A voice bellowed from the threshold. Mr. Chase stood in the doorway, clutching a cup of steaming coffee, his face tired and exasperated as he used his empty hand to massage the bridge of his nose. "Both of you, stop arguing and get ready. Annabeth, it's a long drive. If you want to get there on time, I suggest you quit dilly-dallying."

Annabeth strutted out of her room and into the bathroom down the hall, but not before shooting her signature glare at me over her shoulder.

Mr. Chase stared at me expectantly, but sighed after he clearly saw that I didn't understand.

"Percy, you too."

"You're still making me go with her?" I groaned. I'd thought that after our little spat, Mr. Chase would disregard his previous statement and tell me it'd be better if I stayed home. Sadly, miracles don't happen for me.

"Yes, you're still going with her. If you're gonna continue living in this house, you have to learn to get along with everyone and that includes Annabeth. Stubborn as she is, you have to at least promise me you'll try to get along. I'm sure she'd appreciate it." _Appreciate it my butt. _

"I'll try." I replied halfheartedly, feeling slightly guilty for making a promise I know I won't be able to keep.

"Thank you. Now get dressed, this is a big deal for Annabeth." And with that, he left the room, leaving the lingering scent of his coffee behind.

I sighed heavily before leaving also and readying myself for a day watching photographers snap photos of Little Miss Perfect all day long. Exciting? Almost as much as watching grass die.

* * *

**Annabeth Pov**

The limo ride had been dead silent, neither of us dared to say a single word to the other for fear that we'd only argue. And Walter's busy enough without having to stop us from clawing each others eyes out. Percy had spaced out for the majority of the ride, his stare faraway like he was lost in thought. I, on the other hand, fiddled with my phone, replying to texts and tweeting about the photo shoot.

We'd arrived at the studio two hours later and were greeted by my stylist, Aphrodite. She'd wrapped me in a tight hug and lead me through the familiar pathways leading to the dressing room, which explains why I'm modeling dress after dress, outfit after outfit, in front of an ecstatic Aphrodite and a bored Percy, whose expression seemed to say _Kill me now. _Honestly, I couldn't blame him, I felt the same way.

You see, I never used to be like this, I never used to be this high maintenance fashion freak. In fact before I became famous, I wouldn't have paid any attention to what people thought of my what I wore; as long as I like it, I wore it. Come to think of it, I actually miss my old t-shirts, ripped jeans, and sneakers and I'd actually tried to convince Aphrodite to let me wear them out one time. As you can imagine, it didn't go so well. She'd went on and on about how important it is to look pretty and according to her, that was just the opposite. She'd explained how wearing that in public was "social suicide", but me being younger at the time, I didn't understand why clothes mattered when it should be about the music. Aphrodite had said that appearance was everything and so was how you presented yourself; she said my clothes presented me as too lazy to try, which to me seemed ridiculous, but I went along with it. Looking back on it, I wish I would have argued against it, told her that was a load of bull, and she should sit down and shut up.

After given yet another dress to try on, my ears nearly bled when Aphrodite squealed as she gawked over how good I looked in the red, skin-tight dress that barely went mid-thigh. It was definitely not my style with its low neckline that exposed more than I was comfortable with and the lack of material covering me. Plus, I didn't find the color that flattering on me. I wish it was a lush green like the sea, not a red so vibrant I looked like a moving stop sign.

"Oh, Annabeth, honey, you look gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. It really accentuates your curves and brings out your hair." Aphrodite gushed, practically bursting with excitement. "What do you think, Percy?" She said, sending him a wink.

"Burn it."

_ Thank you._ Somebody understands fashion here.

"Why would anyone want to burn such a beautiful dress?" Aphrodite shrieked, appalled at such an idea.

"Because she looks like a whore. That dress does nothing for her. Neckline's too low, the length is too short, the color just doesn't work for her at all. She looks like some skank wannabe."

_ Holy Zeus. This boy gets it._ He most likely meant for that to be a jab at me, thinking I actually found the dress appealing, but he hit the nail on the head. This thing was aw-ful. It had so many issues, it'd take years to name them all.

"Thank you for you input, Percy, but nobody asked you." Aphrodite snapped, a scowl on her face.

"But you jus-"

"Shhhh."

He let it drop, but he didn't look to happy that his opinion went in one ear and out the other. Percy doesn't know it or would be happy about it if he did, but he just did me a favor, criticizing the dress, making Aphrodite second guess the overall design. Maybe she'll change her mind and put something else together, something more….conservative.

Twenty outfits later and hundreds of comments from Percy, ranging from "Awful", "You look like a sausage", "That dress makes you look fat", "Why would anyone want to dress like they rolled around in garbage?", and "Who the hell makes these?", we finally found what I was going to wear on the cover of the magazine. And this one Percy actually approved of. Well, not approved, but said it didn't look as terrible as the others.

It was a simple, yellow dress that flowed around me whenever I moved and thankfully, wasn't so tight that it left nothing to the imagination. Nothing complex about it and I think that's why I liked it so much.

Once I was dressed, I was ushered into another room with a backdrop hanging off the wall. The photographer, a gruff looking man named Philippe, positioned me in front of it before returning to his expensive looking camera that was placed on a tripod. His finger was just about to hit the button when something in the corner of the room caught his attention and he jerked his head up, eyes widening as he took in-

Percy.

_ Ooookay. This is weird._

"You." He said, his voice shrill and high pitched. Philippe approached Percy slowing until he was less than a foot away. "Your face, it's perfect."

"Oh, ummm…thanks, I guess." Percy replied rather awkwardly as he rubbed his hand along the back of his neck.

"It's just what I need for my next creation. You see, I'm on a strict deadline to produce a poster for an upcoming movie premier this Tuesday, but the lead role isn't able to come in to take the photo. You, you look just like him, dark hair, brilliant eyes, ruggedly handsome. You can take his place."

"Woah, woah, woah. You want to put him on a poster, a poster that everybody's going to see, a poster that fans all around the _world_ are going to see." I cried, disbelief evident in my voice. When Philippe nodded, I swear my jaw hit the floor. Green envy engulfed my whole being. I should be on a movie poster, I even auditioned for a few movies, but I didn't make it in because more famous actors had already scored a spot. Why shouldn't I be the one with not only a hit music career, but a talented actress as well? Why does Percy get his face plastered on a poster that will no doubt be glued to every wall in the world? He didn't even have to try, work for it like the rest of us had to. "If you put him on there, you're not going to sell many posters. Even blind people gag at the sight of his face. Little children have nightmares."

Percy laughed humorlessly. "At least, I'm not the one whose so desperate to be noticed that I'd walk around town naked. You're like a sponge, you absorb all the attention because you know that within a year or so, you'll be forgotten, overshadowed by a new celebrity who'll be better than you. You'll do anything for fame. You'd probably gnaw off your own arm just get your name in the headlines."

"I like the fame, I'll admit it, but I wouldn't strip naked or chew on my arm like a dog toy to get it."

"Maybe not, but in that red dress, you're pretty close to it."

Before I could retort, Philippe cut in.

"Please, please, enough. You're going to give me a headache. Anyway, back to the matter at hand, will you do this for me, Percy. It would mean a lot and I'd even put your name on the poster, underneath the lead actor's."

"No, thank you, but no. I don't want people to know me, I don't want them to know my name from some stupid poster. Then, somebody out there will get this crazy idea to put me in a movie or something and I'll end up something like this thing over here." Percy sent a disgusted look my way before returning his attention to Philippe.

"No name. I'll pay you instead. I'll give you fame, fortune, whatever your heart desires."

"I don't want anything. I like my life how it is, thank you very much. I don't need money or every person on the planet knowing my name to be happy. I'm sorry, but no."

Did he hit his head on a rock on his way over here? This was a big deal and he just spat on it. He could've been someone, someone people looked up to, someone people wish they could be. Not the lonely boy living with a famous family who overshadows him. He could've been a worldwide hit and he threw it all away. The thing I want to know is why. Why would he give something like that up?

The remainder of the photo shoot was uneventful. Philippe snapped the photos for the magazine in silence, a scowl on his face whenever he glanced at Percy, who appear unaffected by the whole ordeal. Once Philippe was finished, he ushered- er…pushed was more like it- us out of the studio, but not without throwing a glare that was probably supposed to be intimidating, but failed miserably. If anything, it made him looked constipated.

Walter opened the side door of our freshly washed limo and Percy and I climbed inside, flopping ourselves down the cushy seats. Percy had sat in the seat opposite of me, eyes closed, breathing slowed, a soft snore escaping his parted lips. _Man, that boy falls asleep fast. _But who could blame him, he'd sat there for hours doing absolutely nothing, but disapprove of every outfit I'd tried on. Tiring business right there.

I attempted to focus my mind on my plans for my new album, but my mind began to wander, catching something far more enticing than music. Percy. His tousled, black hair hung low over his forehead, tiny pieces blowing up as he exhaled heavily. Beautiful, tanned skin layered over mountains of muscle. His navy blue shirt stretched across his broad chest, outlining his rock hard body. The material clung to his abdomen, exposing abs any guy would kill for and any girl would faint just given a peek. He was gorgeous, infuriating, but gorgeous. No guy had ever been able to take my breath away from just a single glance, leaving me gulping for air. But with a body like Percy's, anything is possible. My father had told me that Percy had been on the swim team at his old school and he was remarkable, fastest swimmer ever seen, won more medals than anyone would count. Which would explain the yummy physique. Swimming did him good.

"See something you like?" He asked, snapping me out of my trance, a cocky smirk adorning his features.

"No," I lied, sounding not at all as convincing as I'd hoped, "there's a stain on your shirt."

"Mmmhmmm. Sure there is." Leaning back in his seat, he folded his arms over his chest and closed his eyes after sending me another smug smile.

He obviously was tired and wanted to be left alone, but something was nagging at the back of brain, a burning question itching to be asked. I knew I wouldn't be able to focus on anything else until it was answered.

"Why did your turn down Philippe's offer?" I asked curiously.

"Why would I? I'm happy with how my life is, I don't need money or fame to feel like my life's complete. At the end of the day, I just want to be me, nobody else. Being in front of camera after camera, interviewed in front of thousands, that's going to change everything. People are going to expect me to be some big shot, but that's not who I am, not who I want to be." He shrugged. "That's not me. And honestly, I really don't wanna turn out like you, spoiled rotten, self-centered, rude… The list goes on and on." He added as an afterthought, venom leaking into his voice.

"You always complain about me, but what about you? You don't know how good you've got it. You're lucky that my dad took you in when you had nowhere else to go. Right now you could be living in a dump with a trashy family who treats you like dirt and no one would even care. You're not a part of this family and you never will be. You don't belong. You're the little imperfection in an otherwise flawless family." I sneered.

"Flawless, my ass. It could've been if they wouldn't have given birth to such a bitchy daughter who looks at the world like it belongs to her, like if she's not the center of attention, the world will stop spinning or something."

"Oh yeah, well-"

"Both of you, hush. Mr. Chase has given me strict orders to make sure you two get along. Now, can you please stop the bickering and at least try to have a civilized conversation?" Walter hollered, his accent thickening as he berated us.

Instead, Percy and I did just the opposite, we remained silent the whole rest of the ride. He averted his gaze, locking it on the floor, carefully avoiding any and all eye contact with me, and I stared out the tinted windows, watching the world blur past us, as Percy's words rang through my head on repeat.

The moment we arrived home, Percy all but ripped the door of the hinges in his haste to exit the vehicle. He burst through the front door and clambered up the steps, slamming his bedroom door behind him.

My dad walked down the hallway, his aviator goggles perched atop his head. "How'd it go, honey?"

I sighed heavily.

"Just peachy."

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**There you go, guys. Chapter 3! :) Hope you enjoyed it. Leave me some feedback and tell me what you thought. Good? Bad? Terrible? Okay? Let me know!**

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**~TwistedTrident~**


	4. Chapter 4

** Thank you all so much for reviewing, favoriting, following, etc. :) **

**Here's chapter 4! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 4**

**Percy's Pov**

"-best of things." A voice feminine voice shouted, traveling from the living room downstairs all the way up to my cozy room on the second floor. Mrs. Chase was clearly not happy about something, her voice taking on a dark tremor filled with a sense of hatred. I'd never heard her speak that way to anyone that way. Normally, she's a very calm woman, always keeping her temper in check, and never raising her voice to such a shrill pitch. Even when the twins got themselves into trouble, she never rose her voice higher than a stern scolding; this was flat out screaming. Obviously, they'd done something terrible to have made her react in such a way. But as the second voice screamed back, I was shocked to find that it belonged not to the boys but to Annabeth.

"You're not my mother; I don't have to listen to you." Her voice matched her stepmother's pitch perfectly. This must've been what my file meant when it said Mrs. Chase and Annabeth didn't get along.

"Whether you like it or not, I am your mother and I expect you treat me as such."

"You'll never be my mother. She was a great woman, she treated me like her daughter while you act like I'm a nuisance who's standing in the way of your happy-pappy life with my dad. News flash for you, honey, I'm not going anywhere so good luck with that."

"What makes you think I want to get rid of you?" Mrs. Chase asked, suddenly taking on a quieter, more serious tone.

"I heard you and my dad arguing the other night. You were telling him all about how you wanted to ship me off to some boarding school so you wouldn't have to deal with me. But when he said he could never do that to me, you got all pissed at him and accused him of picking me over you. Which in case you didn't know, he was. Obviously, you're not as important as you think." Really? Mr. and Mrs. Chase had been fighting? I hadn't even heard them, but I guess I was a heavy sleeper. Like a really _really _heavy sleeper. I guarantee that if a tornado ripped through my house, I'd hardly even stir.

"Don't you get it? I'm trying to help you. You've become almost unrecognizable, not the girl you father talks so proudly about. What happened to that sweet, straight A student that didn't care about what others thought of her? Hmm? What happened to her? I really believe it would be best for you to leave." I could practically feel the frustration coming off of Mrs. Chase's words. How could she be so harsh? Annabeth may be hardheaded, but that's no reason to be so mean. Besides, Annabeth is so not cut out for boarding school. She'd get eaten alive, she just doesn't seem like the type of person who would gladly give up her butlers and expensive cuisines for bitter students and inedible school lunches.

"You want to know what's best for me? Butting the hell out of my life, that's what. All you've done since my father married you was bitch about me and I'm sick of it!" A crash reverberated around the room, a noise sounding like a glass shattering into tiny, pointed shards.

I climbed off from my seated position on my bed, pushing away my unfinished Chemistry homework, and bounded down the steps two at a time. At the bottom, Annabeth brushed past me, her face taking on an angry red hue, fists clenched so tight her nails, shaping crescents into her palms, drew blood. The thick, red liquid dripped from her hands and leaked onto the steps, but Annabeth either didn't notice or didn't care that she'd unintentionally wounded herself.

Walking into the living room, I found Mrs. Chase hunched down on the floor, picking up pieces of what used to be a brilliant, light blue vase that held a luminous bouquet of flowers. Now, the petals were ripped from their stems and were buried beneath the glass. I crouched beside her, sifting through the pieces gently until I found larger shards that could be easily picked up without cutting my fingers. The smaller pieces would have to brushed into a dust pan and disposed of that way.

I turned my attention back to Mrs. Chase and noticed unshed tears glistening in her wide, blue eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned for her well being.

She sighed heavily, barely holding herself together from breaking down.

"Yes, Percy, I'm…fine." Her voice was deflated and filled with sadness. "It was just a little spat, nothing serious."

"From the looks of it, it seems pretty serious." I replied, eyeing the broken vase.

She laughed. To be honest, it was a homey kind of laugh, bringing back memories from my childhood filled with images of my mother. Her laugh sounded similar to Mrs. Chase's, a soft melodious noise that you couldn't help but smile at.

"Well, it's not the first time Annabeth's broken things. She tends to do that when she's enraged. As you'll soon find out, these fights are pretty regular. Since you're going to be living her, I thought it would be fair to give you a little warning." She exhaled a long breath. "I just wish things were different. Truth be told, I've always wanted a daughter and I know Annabeth isn't my flesh and blood, but she feels like she's mine. When I'd found out Fredrick had one, I was thrilled. Someone to give advice to, to talk with about things she probably wouldn't confide in her father. You know, girl stuff. But Annabeth has been nothing but harsh towards me. I've tried, I really have, but I'm starting to lose hope of ever having a relationship with her." She sounded truly disheartened by this and I felt bad for her. All she wanted was a stepmother/daughter bond, but Annabeth seemed to be less than ok with that.

"Mrs. Chase, you have to remember that this is hard for Annabeth, too. I mean, imagine yourself in her shoes. Her mother died when she was so young and then, out of the blue someone else paints themselves into the picture, acting like she's her new mom. She just doesn't want anyone to try to take her mother's place."

"I'm trying to overshadow Athena, I just want to be there for her, be someone she can talk to if she needs someone willing to listen."

"You should tell her that. Let her know that that's not your intention and that instead of thinking of you as a mom, think of you as more of friend. But first, you should probably let her cool down. She walked past me earlier and I'm pretty sure I saw steam coming out of her ears." Mrs. Chase laughed, a real one this time.

"Thank you, Percy. That's good advice. You should consider a job as a guidance counselor or something of that nature."

"Actually, I want to be a swimmer."

"Interesting." We resumed picking through the glass in silence after that. Mrs. Chase had a faraway look in her eyes, lost deep in thought, thoughts no doubt about how to patch things up with her stepdaughter.

Once the large fragments were picked up and thrown in the trash, I grabbed a broom, the ends bristled and worn. Grabbing a dust pan, Mrs. Chase and I swept up the remnants of the vase off the shiny, marble floor. Looking over our handy work, I caught sight of one flower that managed to stay intact. It was pale white and the edges were stained a light pink. So much beauty was smushed into such a simple flower. It even smelled beautiful, a sweet flowery scent that left my nostrils satisfied and aching for another sniff. I picked up the flower and held it delicately in my hand, afraid I'd crush it with my man hands.

"You found one that hasn't been damaged." Mrs. Chase took it from my fingers, giving it a sniff, soaking in its heavenly aroma, before handing it back to me. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah, it is." My eyes drifted back to it, unable to stay off the lovely flower between my fingers.

After double checking that no glass remained, I headed back up to my room, preparing myself to spend hours staring at a sheet of paper that was nearly impossible. I'm pretty sure sawing my own arm off will be less painful than trying to work through something I had knew nothing about. Rocket science would be easier. My teachers must think I'm a genius or something. I'm flattered, but by know they must know that I'm not.

Before I mounted the stairs, Mrs. Chase stopped me.

"Percy, could you do me just one more favor?"

"Of course. What do you need?"

"I know you and Annabeth aren't on the best of terms, but I'd really appreciate it if you'd go and talk to her. Since she refuses to speak with anyone except that boy, Luke, I think she could use someone to talk to, help her through everything. It seems like a lot to ask, I know, but she has a lot going on and I don't think it's good for her to keep all that bottled up. If it's too much trouble-"

"No, it's no trouble at all." That was a lie. It was a problem, considering the second I tried to step foot in Annabeth's room she'd probably slam the door in my face…or try to kick me where it counts, if you know what I mean. But it was worth a shot.

I ascended the steps and briskly walked down the hall, stopping at the room across from mine. The door was shut as always, but instead of blaring music, the only sound was quiets sobs, muffled by the wall separating us. I knocked, hoping Annabeth would let me in, but all I got was a "go away". Clearly, she was upset and needed comforting, something I don't she'd gotten very often. Between the arguing with her step mom and her brothers, she had no one to really comfort her. And her dad was out of the question because of their strained relationship had developed after his and Athena's divorce.

Ignoring her, I pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind me. Upon walking in, I was met with a sea of miscellaneous items that had been thrown around the room. Papers were scattered all over the plush pink carpet. Everything that had sat on her desk were now lying on the floor. Her pink notebook filled with song lyrics lay against the wall where it had been obviously thrown. Needless to say, the whole room was a disaster. From the one other time I'd been in Annabeth's room, I'd learned that she liked to keep things orderly, this was anything but. Evidently, she does more than wreck vases, she turns her clean room into a pigsty.

A soft whimper caught my attention, dragging my eyes to the person seated on the bed, knees pulled up to chest, arms wrapped tightly around them as streams of tears poured down her cheeks. Annabeth's nose was red and her eyes were puffy; as crazy as this may sound, she was even cute when she was in tears.

I approached the bed, seating myself beside her, the bed shifting under my weight. She hardly acknowledged me, but as I scooted closer, she shot me a halfhearted look that was supposed to be intimidating, but fell short. Ignoring her glare, I wrapped my arms around her thin frame, rubbing her back soothingly and almost awkwardly. I've never been good at these sorts of things. Comforting my mother was one thing, but comforting cry girls was another. I always seemed to draw a blank whenever I try to come up with ways to cheer them up, but most of the time, I fail miserably. But for once, it seemed to be working because Annabeth melted into my embrace, her hard sobs turning into soft sniffles until her crying stopped entirely.

She pulled herself out of my arms, scooting back until her head was resting against the wall behind her.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly, but immediately felt stupid afterwards. Of course, she wasn't okay, she's crying her eyes out. Sometimes I just want to pound on my head until my pops out of my ear because I seriously think it malfunctions more than it should.

"No." She answered honestly, dropping the whole snarky, tough girl attitude from yesterday.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Do I have to?"

"Only if you want to."

She sighed. "I miss my mom, always have, always will, but when Martha and I fight like this, I only miss her more. She'd never yell at me like that, treat me like I'm not as important or don't matter to her."

"Why don't you just try to get along?" She rolled her eyes at this.

"It's not that easy, Percy. She expects so much from me, expects me to just accept her into my family, but I can't do that. She acts like she's my mom when she's not. It's not right of her to just pop into my life like she'd always been there. When my father married her, I couldn't believe it, my mind couldn't wrap itself around the idea. When my mother died, we cried and grieved for a long time and then suddenly, he's getting remarried to some bitch who's trying to replace her."

"Yeah, I know how you feel."

"No, you don't, you have no idea."

"Your wrong. I lost my mom about…what? Two weeks ago? And not only did I have to deal with that heartbreak , but I had to adapt to an entire newly family in a strange new state that I'd never been before. Do you know that when I first got her, I felt like all of your family were trying to erase the memories of my mom with ones filled with yourselves? It was hard for me, but I realized that that's not even a possibility. I realized all Mr. and Mrs. Chase wanted was to be there for me when I needed them and that's what they want to do for you, too. If you'd let them that is."

Annabeth's jaw rocked back and forth, chewing her thoughts and hopefully, thinking over everything I'd said and that is wasn't going in one ear and out the other.

"Why can't you be the one to do that?" Well, that was unexpected. I thought she hated me and now she wants to be her…what? Friend? Personal therapist? Whatever it was, I chose to ignore it for the moment. For once, Annabeth was actually be nice to me and not screaming in my face at how ugly, stupid, or lame I was.

"Why would you want that?"

"Because you understand." She said, throwing a small smile my way. "Anyway, since we've managed to stay in a room together this long without causing the other bodily harm, I think it would be a good chance to get to know each other better. You are going to be here for a while so it's not like I could ignore you forever."

"Good idea. So what do you want to know?"

"What's your favorite?"

"Blue."

It went on and on like this for hours, just us sitting next to each other asking random questions, learning things about the other we'd never known. And in this moment, I finally saw a different part of Annabeth, a part that I wouldn't mind seeing all the time. For once, I could picture us as best friends, joking around and poking fun at the other. Secretly, I think this was the real Annabeth coming out, making a surprise appearance. I could be wrong, but this side of her seems to come more natural to her than the snotty celebrity part. Needless to say, I liked this side of her much, much more.

Throughout our silly game of 20 questions, I'd picked up on her sense of humor; it was odd to hear her crack jokes, but it was refreshing after her high maintenance attitude had thrown insult after insult for the past two weeks. Whenever I'd answer one of her many questions, she'd always add a silly comment or joke that made us both crack up from the hilarity. I liked it when she laughed; it was such a pretty sound, it was hard not to smile whenever you heard it. One time, I even made her laugh so hard she snorted and she ended up rolling around on her cluttered floor for several minutes, unable to sober herself up.

But my favorite part of our game was when I asked about what she wanted to do in the future. Her eyes sparkled and her face lit up, an enormous smile plastered on her face. She told me she wanted to be an architect, constructing permanent skyscrapers all around the world. I'd never seen so animated before as she talked about angles, joints, and suspensions. Architecture lingo that I wasn't familiar with. Eventually, my eyes glazed over and I almost fell asleep during her excited commentary, which I felt bad for. But when she noticed she wasn't angry or put off by it, she simply laughed, moving on to the reason why she wanted to be an architect in the first place.

"You see, everything used to be perfect before. I had a wonderful mother and a happy-go-lucky father, a nice house, plenty of friends, it couldn't have gotten better than that. But then mom died, she was gone, my friends hate me for a stupid mistake I made that still makes me feel guilty, dad became so obsessed with his work that he lost that happy childish joy that used to make me smile. All the things that made my life so good were crumbling down, threatening to crush me. Things change, people change or leave you behind, but buildings, buildings will always be there. They may have to be remodeled throughout the years, but they will always be the same structure that they were originally. Like you said so yourself, in a few years, my music and I will be forgotten, replaced by some new younger star with better songs."

"You sound like you don't want to be a musician."

"I do, I love the music, but my heart just isn't as into it anymore. My music career isn't something I want to spend the rest of my life doing."

"Architecture is?"

"Yep."

"Wow, that's really…"

"Lame?"

"Your words, not mine." I said jokingly, eliciting a laugh from Annabeth. "But seriously, I think that's really great. If that's what you want to do, I say you go for it."

"Wow." She said, staring at me in awe. She seemed genuinely surprised that someone supported her dream, but I don't see why. Annabeth would make a wonderful architect. Granted, I'd never seen her design a building before, but her motivation and enjoyment for such a career is admirable. Someone with so much love and appreciation for a difficult job like architecture deserves it more than all the others. Most people dislike their jobs, clocking in and clocking out, not caring what-so-ever with the fundamentals of their occupations, but someone like Annabeth, someone who thoroughly enjoys what she does, those are the best at their jobs.

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Well, it's just that, not many people agree with my decision. Martha and my dad think I'd be better off sticking with music along with the majority of my friends and family. Even my own grandparents laughed in my face when I brought up the idea. Nobody thinks I can do it."

"That hurts my feelings." I said, clutching my hands to my chest as I feigned hurt.

"Why?"

"You just called me a nobody." A small smile broke out on her lips. "Well, its getting late. I should probably get to sleep, you know, with school tomorrow and all. Good night." I said as I made my way to the door, but jerked around as I remembered what I'd planned to do earlier.

I stepped closer to Annabeth and placed the beautiful flower into her hand. She smiled-she'd been doing that a lot lately- as she twirled the flower around in her fingers. Annabeth lifted the petals up to her nose and took a big whiff, absorbing its delightful fragrance.

"Thank you, Percy," She whispered softly, admiring its beauty. "It's lovely."

"You're welcome." I let myself out of the room, throwing a quick "goodnight" over my shoulder to which Annabeth returned.

Returning to my room, I yanked off my clothes and pulled on fresh, blue plaid pajama pants before jumping into my bed, pulling the covers over my waist, arms behind my head. I laid in silence, waiting for sleep to overtake me, but tonight it evaded me. Too many thoughts raced through my mind, blocking the darkness from coming for a visit.

For hours, I stared up at the blank ceiling above me and tried to push the thoughts away, but they were relentless. The second I felt like I pulled off the task, they'd reappear and I'd have to start all over again. Eventually, I just gave up and provided the attention my head was in need of.

The thoughts were pointless, but held so much meaning it hurt. After hearing Annabeth talk about her mother, memories of mine jumbled together, demanding my attention. One was of my mom in the kitchen, baking blue chocolate chip cookies, while another was just us talking. Memory after memory flashed through my mind, a silent slideshow of my life. Some made me laugh and smile and others deflated the elation I'd felt from the happier memories. It went on and on until it ended on the most recent memory I had of my mom. _The last memory. _The thought made me frown. It was of my mother and I sitting on the couch watching one of her favorite movies, The Blindside. She'd complained earlier how I was busy with the swim team that she hadn't spent much time with me. So to make up for it, we'd sat down with a bucket of popcorn and plopped down on the couch, immersing ourselves into the movie.

I hadn't realized I was crying until the salty tears dripped down my chin. Lifting up the blanket, I wiped the tears from my eyes. I sighed as the heartbreak and loss flooded through me, the wound in my heart I'd spent weeks sewing up had split open, unleashing the deep, throbbing ache in my chest. I felt like I could sit and cry forever, but then the good memories materialized behind my closed eyelids, engulfing me in the happy experiences we'd shared. I smiled as they filled me up with nothing but pleasant feelings.

And that's how I fell asleep. With a smile on my face and a giddy feeling consuming me.

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***gasp* Annabeth and Percy actually got along?! Yep. I know, the world has ended. But I figured after last chapter where they were so hateful to the other, I thought they deserved one moment where they weren't at each other's throats.**

**Anyway, what did you think? Good? Bad? Okay? So terrible it should be thrown in Tartarus and never read again? Review and tell me what you think! **

**Lets try to get the review count up to 20 for this story!**

**~TwistedTrident~ :)**


	5. Chapter 5

** Yay! We reached 20 reviews! Thank you guys so much! That makes me so happy. Anyway, as a thank you, I got my creative juices flowing and finished the next chapter early.**

**Hope you guys like it! :)**

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**Chapter 5**

**Percy's Pov**

A week has passed since I'd been consoling Annabeth and a lot has changed. We no longer throw glares at the other, spitting insults left and right, whenever we see each other. Now, we give each other small smiles and even, stop to exchange a few words about how the other is doing. Most of the time when I ask that question, Annabeth responds with a "very busy", which is the honest truth. The deadline for her new album is rapidly approaching and she's on a tight schedule. She's locked in her room writing and perfecting songs at least fourteen hours a day. Annabeth doesn't even have time to eat dinner with us anymore; she just grabs a plate, stacks it with food, and heads right back up to her room. Honestly, I feel kind of bad for her; she has hardly any time to just relax and have time for herself without her music getting in the way.

I figured today wouldn't be any different than the others. Annabeth would still be a recluse, only leaving the confines of her room for dinner or bathroom breaks, Mr. Chase would be in the airplane hanger, remodeling a new plane, and Mrs. Chase would be busy playing the trophy wife. Besides, Mrs. Chase had her brunch with her country club friends today so I doubt she'd care if Nico, Thalia, and Grover came by for a few hours.

A knock on the door announced their arrival and I sprung up from the couch, rushing to the door. Twisting the know, I swung it open and was met with the sight of my friends, clustered together on the porch, looking at the giant that is my house. They stared up in awe at the overall size and beauty, but who could blame them? It was an awfully nice house. Expensive as hell, but nice. Well, except Thalia who seemed bored by the whole ordeal, but this is Thalia were talking about. Not much excites her.

I invited them all inside and debated whether I should take them up to my room or to the basement.

"Holy Hades, Percy. You live here?" Nico said while soaking in the whole house like a sponge. I don't see why he was so surprised. His house was just as fancy as this one, maybe even fancier. Granted, it was entirely black as night, but nevertheless, it had an eerie beauty to it that's indescribable.

"Yeah."

"It's so pretty here, especially outside the house. Back home, it's so drab and dreary, but here, it's sunny and bright. Surprising, I kind of like it." That was a surprise. Nico basically hated anything that wasn't black or gray.

Grover picked up one of the flowers out of our _new_ vase and smelled it, the scent wafting up his nose.

"Hey, Percy?" Grover said still twirling the flower around in his fingers. "Are these real?"

"Umm…yeah, I think so." I replied, suddenly wondering why he cared. Well, he was a tree hugger at heart so I guess I shouldn't be so curious.

"Awesome." He said before yanking his phone out of his pocket and snapping pictures of the flowers.

"What are you doing?" Thalia asked having taken notice of Grover's obsession over the flowers.

"These babies," He said, pointing to the flower pics displayed on the screen, "are going on Instagram."

"No offense, but who would want to look at blurry pictures of tulips?" I asked.

"My followers from Nature club." Grover had convinced our school's principle that the school wouldn't be complete without a Nature club so now every Thursday, Grover and his tree hugger buddies meet up immediately after school and talk plants or something of the sort. He'd tried to talk me into joining, but quickly revoked his offer when he found out how little I knew about nature.

Not wanting to spend the majority of our time watching Grover take nature pics, I said:

"Wanna go downstairs? We could hang out down there, if you guys want." They all agreed and I led them down to the basement. It was hardly ever used, which was pretty sad, considering it by far the nicest basement I'd ever seen. And to prove my point, my friends gasped, their eyes taking it all in.

Upon descending the last step, you come face to face with a wide expanse filled with items of all different kinds. Straight ahead, you'll see the movie theater with an enormous screen that takes up the entire wall. Rows of movies theater seats were placed in front of it and a popcorn machine was set up beside them. To the left, there's a pool table and a few old arcade games that Nico was practically drooling over, which was no surprise. The boy loved anything that involved technology. To the right is the entrance to the Olympic-sized swimming pool that had become my favorite pastime- Mrs. Chase had told me about it after I'd admitted that I'd wanted to be a swimmer.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" I asked them, expecting different answers from each of them, but was surprised when they all agreed on watching a movie. Even Nico who was staring lovingly at the arcade games only moments ago.

I approached the DVD rack while Thalia, Nico, and Grover took their seats in the front row. We went back and forth, arguing over movie choices, until we finally settled on one. I popped open the lid and slid it into disk tray before taking my seat beside Nico.

The movie hadn't even finished the previews before Nico screamed for me to pause the movie.

"Percy, pause it hurry."

"What?" I asked, unable to depict why pausing the movie was so urgent.

"We need popcorn." He said while giving me a look that clearly said _duh._ "We can't watch a movie without popcorn. That's like-"

"-going to a restaurant and not ordering enchiladas." Grover jumped in, interrupting Nico.

"Umm….sure." Nico said.

He stood and headed over to the popcorn machine, pressing buttons randomly, unsure how to use the machine.

"Nico," I said, getting up to assist him, "let me help you."

"Nah, it's okay, Perce. I got this. It just needs the magic touch." Apparently, "the magic touch" involved slamming your fists against it repeatedly and cursing when it didn't work.

Yanking Nico away from the machine before he caused irreversible damage, I pressed the correct button combination and popping noises sounded from inside the machine.

"I warmed it up for you. You're welcome." Nico said, trying to play it cool, which was so unconvincing that the most obtuse person in the world would know it was a lie. I laughed, rolling my eyes at his stupidity.

Within minutes, we all held bowls of steaming, freshly-popped popcorn and we're situated in our seats, fast forwarding through all the previews until we got to the menu screen. Pressing "play", the movie began and we were engrossed into the world of Avatar as the blue people struggled to welcome a human among them.

Halfway through the movie, a masculine voice rang out from behind us. Pausing the movie yet again, I spun around and saw Luke Castellan, son of Hermes and famous actor, standing beside Annabeth who'd obviously decided to come out of hiding and get some fresh air.

Luke was fairly tall with sandy blond waves of hair cascading over his forehead and blue eyes as deep as the sea. He wore a cocky expression on his face, which I'd learned is basically the only kind of expression he has. The girls at school gush over his looks, but a few have complained how his attitude cancels out the looks factor. I've never officially met Luke, but he gives off this air that lets you know that he thinks he's all that. Lately, I've heard my heard my friends say some pretty harsh things about him and how he'd taken something from them, something they don't think they'll ever get back. I'd never gotten the chance to ask what it was though. Honestly, I hadn't even known that they knew Luke until they'd spoken of everything he'd done. They've talked about his façade that he puts on for the audience, but lets crumble around people who don't have a camera. He acts all kind and charming on camera, but off, that's when he shows his true colors.

"Mind if we join you?" He asked in a sickly sweet voice, directing a smile at Thalia that would've made any other girl swoon.

"Mind if I shove my foot up your ass?" Thalia growled, not at all happy to have a reunion with her ex-friend. She'd never told me why they'd broken off their friendship and I didn't pry, but I almost wished I had. If what Luke did was enough to unhinge Grover, the calmest of the group, then what he'd done must have been _bad._

"Yes, actually, I would. That would be rather uncomfortable." Luke responded before throwing himself down into a seat in our row, but thankfully, on the other side of the aisle. He was closest to me, which was a relief because if he put Thalia any more on edge, I was going to lean across the aisle and jam my fist into his face.

"Coming, Annabeth?" He asked, twisting in his seat to look at her.

Thalia jolted in her seat, her slumped posture going rigid. She looked toward Nico and Grover who looked angry with a twinge of surprise mixed in. Thalia looked behind her along with Grover and Nico, just now taking notice that Annabeth had been standing there. All of them had been oblivious to her presence until Luke had spoken her name. Obviously, my friends were more than displeased that she was here, but surprised also.

Annabeth moved forward to take her seat beside Luke, but just before she sat down, Thalia launched out of hers like a rocket.

"No! You," Thalia screeched, thrusting her pointer finger in Annabeth's direction, "get the hell out of here. What are you even doing here?"

"I-I live here." Annabeth said hesitantly, as if Thalia was the snake and she was the mouse, seconds away from becoming a nutritious snack. Out of the three weeks I've lived here, I'd never heard Annabeth stutter. She'd always looked so confident in herself; now she looked anything but.

_ What the hell is going on? _Obviously, Thalia and Annabeth have some history, bad history involved with painful memories. But what? What could have made Thalia so loathing of Annabeth? Granted, Annabeth had the tendency to be a grade-A bitch sometimes and Thalia had a short temper, but what could have caused so much hatred between the two? So much hatred that even Grover looked about ready to drop kick Annabeth into the next century.

My friends all turned their attention to me, silently interrogating me as to why I didn't tell them I'd been living in Annabeth's house.

In response, I shrugged. "I didn't think it was important."

"Of course, it's important, Percy. How could you just leave something like this out?" Thalia asked, the anger she'd had in her voice when talking to Annabeth had faded into frustration.

"Thalia," Grover said, butting into the conversation, "you can't blame Percy for this. He doesn't know about the….incident."

"She didn't tell you?" Thalia demanded, nodding her head in Annabeth's direction.

I shook my head.

"I have no clue what you guys are talking about." I said.

"Good. Because if she'd told you, she'd probably twist it around in her defense." She replied, glaring menacing at Annabeth.

"No, I wouldn't," Annabeth roared.

Thalia chose to ignore her, clearly disbelieving what she'd said.

"Listen to me, Thalia. What happened that night eats me up with guilt. Do you have any idea how awful it makes me feel?" Annabeth cried, not accepting Thalia's refusal to respond.

"You don't feel awful about anything anymore, Annabeth, anything that doesn't involve losing a fan." Thalia muttered, the fight leaving her. "But what's one more when you've already lost three." And with that, Thalia, Nico, and Grover retreated the way we'd come, back up the steps.

My eyes darted between Annabeth and place my friends once stood. I was beyond confused, even more confused than usual, which is embarrassingly hard to accomplish.

Annabeth's expression was one of sadness. Her tanned skin was pale and her eyes lost their spark. Whatever happened between the two of them, Annabeth was really beating herself up over it. I wondered if Thalia knew just how much Annabeth regretted what had happened.

She looked up and our eyes locked. Hers were dull and lifeless and so unlike how they are normally. I sent her an apologetic smile, silently letting her know how sorry I was for how things had gone, to which, she returned with a small, sorrowful smile.

Annabeth nodded her head in the direction of the stairs, shooing me to go after them. In response, I mouthed the words _We'll talk later_ before talking the stairs two at a time after my friends.

**Annabeth's Pov**

As soon as Percy was gone, I slumped back down into my seat, pulling my legs up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them.

Seeing Thalia again had been bittersweet. I'd missed her terribly and it was good to see her, but with the past still in the way, it was anything but pleasant. I couldn't blame her though. Truth is, if I were in her shoes, I'd have done the same thing. What I'd done doesn't deserve forgiveness. It was a careless mistake that cost us our friendship, but had cost Thalia so much more.

I exhaled sharply as the memory of that fateful night played in my mind.

_ Blaring music crackled from the speakers. Drunken partygoers staggered around as they attempted to dance, their words slurred as they sang along with the song. I was among them, but I, unlike the others, was sober. _

_ I swayed my hips to the beat of the song, the rhythm flowing through me, urging every cell in my body to ignite with the impulse to dance. I laughed along with the other guest who were all giggling like lunatics even though nobody said anything funny. Being newly famous, I had wanted to fit in with the crowd so I followed their lead, throwing my morals out the window._

_ A knock on the door interrupted me from pouring myself a drink that was no doubt spiked with alcohol. I walked over and yanked it open, revealing my best friend in the whole world, Thalia Grace, and her little brother, Jason. Both were soaked from the rain pelting down from the sky._

_ Letting them in, I noticed an unhappy emotion roll over Thalia's face as she took in the party scene. _

_ "I thought you said this was going to be a small party." Thalia said, clearly upset that I'd lied to her. _

_ I'd called her a few hours ago and invited her to come to the party, but she said she couldn't come because she had to babysit Jason since her mom wasn't home. Disappointed that she wouldn't be there to celebrate my rise to fame with me, I'd told her it was going to be a small party among friends, suitable for Jason to accompany her. She'd believed me, which explains why she's here now. _

_ "This is a small party." I replied, a bit put out that she wasn't happy to come._

_ "Annabeth, Jason can't be here. He's too young for this." _

_ Jason was several years younger than us and much too innocent to be exposed to a wild party like this. But at the moment, I didn't care. My song was on the radio, fans screamed my name now, and I wanted my best friend there to celebrate. _

_ Before she could leave, I slammed the door shut, dragging her and Jason through the crowd of sweating bodies to the kitchen. It was quieter in there, less unruly. _

_ "Jason, why don't you stay here? There's snacks and stuff in the fridge; have whatever you want." I said kindly. "Your sister and I will be in the other room. We'll be back to check on you in a bit. Okay?"_

_ Jason nodded, but Thalia, on the other hand, shook her head vigorously._

_ "I'm not leaving him here, Annabeth. He needs to go home. Come on, Jason." She said, turning her attention to her brother._

_ I grabbed his arm, preventing him from following her._

_ "Please?" I said, begging for her to stay and party with me._

_ "No." She replied, gently tugging on Jason's other arm, urging him to slip his arm out of my grasp. But I only tightened my grip when he tried._

_ "But, Thals-"_

_ "Annabeth, no means no." _

_ "Fine." I grumbled, displeased with her lack of excitement._

_ "Watch him while I go to the bathroom and then we're leaving." Thalia said, disappearing down the hall toward the restroom._

_ I stood next to Jason, waiting for Thalia to return, but as the minutes ticked by, the more antsy I got. It was my party and I was missing it because Thalia was being unreasonable. If she wanted to miss out on all the fun, be my guest, but I'm sure as hell not going to._

_ Deciding to join in on the fun, I left Jason in the kitchen and returned to the living room, crowded with people dancing to the music. _Jason will be fine_, I thought to myself. _No one's even in the kitchen.

_ But while I was partying away, sweet, innocent, little Jason, having loved thunderstorms and lightening, had unknowingly snuck through the sliding glass doors out onto the patio. The storm was going full force, striking Jason into a state of awe. He circled around the pool outside to get a closer look, but was entranced when he saw the lightening reflected in the water. Bending down, he brushed his fingers through the clear, chlorine-filled water, his feet teetering on the edge of the pool. When he went to stand back up, his foot slipped on a slick spot around the pool where someone had spilled their drink in their haste to get inside when the storm began. Jason went tumbling into the pool, his head hitting the bottom, sending a jarring pain through his skull. He was not only dazed, but unable to swim, having never learned. Jason thrashed wildly around in the water, trying to reach the surface or at least, disturbing the water enough to capture someone's attention. But the party raged on, no one noticing the splashing waves outside._

_ I was startled, messing up my rhythm to the song, when Thalia reappeared in front of me._

_ "Where's Jason?" She asked curiously._

_ "In the kitchen." I said._

_ "No he's not. I just checked there. Oh my gods, does this mean you have no idea where he is?"_

_ "Relax, Thals. He's probably in the bathroom or in one of the bedrooms or something."_

_ Thalia and I went through all the bedrooms, searching in all the wrong places._

_ When we returned downstairs, panic finally started to reach me. _Where is he? Where could he have gone?

_ "Let's go check the dance floor. Maybe he went looking for me." I told her, trying to reassure her. Or maybe it was me I was trying to reassure._

_ Thalia nodded._

_ We headed through the throng of people , shouting Jason's name, but coming up empty. After circling around a few times, we met up outside the crowd._

_ "Oh, Annabeth, this is all my fault. I never should have brought him here." Thalia said, sounding miserable._

_ "No, no, this is my fault. I'm the one who lied to you and made you come, not you." I replied, wrapping my around her thing frame, patting her on the back. She returned my hug and we stood together, worrying about her brother when suddenly, Thalia jerked out of my embrace, gasping loudly. _

_ I looked at her questioningly, but she wasn't paying attention. Her gaze was transfixed on the sliding glass doors and unanimously, the thought struck us. _The patio. Jason loved storms;he'd do anything to get near them.

_ I slid the door open and shouted his name along with Thalia. When we came up with no response, we stepped outside and were met with a sight that would give me nightmares to the day I died. _

_ The once crystal clear pool was now stained a vile red, visibility little to none. That's when the pieces fit themselves to form an ugly puzzle that should be burned and forgotten. _

_ Thalia threw herself into the water, diving under until the water obscured my vision of her. Seconds ticked by and as time increased, so did my histeria. _

_ Moments later, she broke the surface, one arm wrapped around an unmoving Jason, the other propelling herself through the water. She reached the edge and I hauled him onto solid ground. Lifting herself up and out of the pool, Thalia kneeled at his side, feeling around his body for a pulse. She skimmed her fingers over his neck and face, which were coated in thick, sticky blood spouting from an open wound on his head._

_ I was in shock. This whole thing felt surreal, like a faraway dream that I'd soon wake from. But it wasn't. Everything was real, Jason was hurt, and even worse, it was all my fault. Those few words were the only things my brain could comprehend. _It's all my fault. _Those five little words rang through my ears like a broken record. _It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. _Those five little words will haunt me forever. _

_ Thalia's next words shook me out of my shock-induced haze._

_ "He's not breathing." She cried hysterically, tears streaming down her face like a river. "Does anyone know CPR? Anybody? Please, he needs help."_

_ A redheaded boy I couldn't name threw himself onto his knees beside Jason._

_ "Somebody call an ambulance." He bellowed before parting Jason's lips, gulping in air, and releasing it in Jason's mouth. _

_ Multiple partygoers surrounded us, having heard the commotion, and yanked their cell phones out, dialing the three digits that could save Jason's life. _

_ The redheaded boy placed the heels of his hands on Jason's chest, pumping over the place his heart should lie. He repeated the process over and over until sweat poured from his forehead, dripping down his neck and soaking his shirt. Pump. Breathe. Pump. Breathe. Not once did the boy stop, not once did he falter or decide it was hopeless, he just kept performing CPR until the paramedics arrived._

_ The flashing lights of the ambulance blinded me. Everything felt as if it were going slow motion. Paramedics rushed from the vehicle, gently pulling him onto a stretcher, and put him into the back of the ambulance. Thalia and I climbed into the back with him, seated at his side. Thalia clutched his hand tightly as heartbreaking sobs rolled from her chest. I hadn't realized I was crying along with her until the salty tears streamed over my lips. _

_ When we arrived at the hospital, we were forced into the waiting room while the doctors helped Jason. Waiting was torture. Thalia and I sat together, clutching each other tightly, tears pouring out of our eyes like a flashflood. _

_ "Are you Thalia Grace?" A deep, masculine voice asked us, interrupting our crying._

_ Thalia nodded, unable to speak with so much emotion caught in her throat. _

_ "Jason is alive, but he's in a very critical state. When he'd fallen, he'd split his head open and had lost a large quantity of blood. We're doing everything we can."_

_ Thalia managed to choke out two words:_

_ "Save him."_

_ "I'll do whatever it takes to bring him back to you, Miss." The doctor assured, sounding sincere and saddened by the circumstances._

_ Hours later, we'd been let into Jason's hospital room. Immediately thinking the worst, we only cried harder, but upon entering, we discovered that Jason was awake._

_ "Jason." Thalia shrieked before dashing over to his bedside, clutching his face in her hands._

_ "Hey, Thals." He croaked weakly, the tiniest hint of a smile on his face. "Can you teach me how to swim sometime soon?" He joked, causing Thalia to laugh, but it wasn't amused. It was full of relief that he really was going to be okay._

_ Jason was released from the hospital several days later and the bandage around his head was removed shortly after. Thalia had taken him home and literally hasn't left his side since, waiting on his every need despite his protests. Their mother, who'd been at work during the incident, was furious with Thalia's lack of attentiveness around Jason and their once solid mother/daughter relationship crumbled. Her mother, having deemed Thalia reckless and a threat to Jason, shipped her off to live with her father, Zeus, founder of Lightening Airlines, and moved away taking Thalia's little brother with her. She never saw him again. _

Ever since then, Thalia has hated me and I don't blame her. If our roles had been reversed, I'd have felt the same way.

Streams of tears cascaded down my cheeks and my soft sobs echoed throughout the expanse of the basement, full of heartache and regret. I'd been selfish back then, only concerned with having a good time, but what was the point of that if you were the cause of someone else's nightmare? There wasn't one.

Luke wrapped an arm around my shoulder, drawing me close, but it wasn't his arms I wanted comforting me. I wanted Percy; he always knew what to say to cheer me up. Just look at last week when I'd been a crying mess. He'd been there and turned the water works into fits of stomach-clutching giggles. But I'd already sent him upstairs, and I wasn't about to go up there and find him.

"Shh." Luke said in a voice that was supposed to comforting, but fell flat. "You're better off without them."

But that's where he was wrong. I wasn't.

* * *

**There you go! Chapter 6. So now you all know why Thalia basically wants Annabeth's head on a platter. **

**Let me know your thoughts in a review! **

**Thanks,**

**~TwistedTrident~**


	6. Chapter 6

** Chapter 6**

**Percy's Pov**

Nervous butterflies zipped around in my gut, demanding my attention. I'd recently joined the swim team at Yancy and today was the big swim competition I'd trained feverishly for. And as you can see, I was extremely nervous. Granted, it wasn't my first competition, but it was my first one here at Yancy and I wanted to show them that they didn't make a mistake by putting me on the team. Plus, the other team from a rival school was pretty intimidating. With their sculpted arms that'll no doubt be like an ore in the water and feet that are big enough to be paddles, they really work that whole intimidation factor. And let's not forget the glares they keep throwing at me, like they'd love nothing more than to snap both my arms in half, preventing me from swimming.

To help calm my nerves, I thought of my friends and the Chases, excluding Annabeth who was vigorously writing songs in her room like no tomorrow, sitting in the stands out there, cheering for me, supporting me all the way. The butterflies settled a bit and my nerves that had previously been going haywire were now tamed to only an anxious flutter. The nail-biting, stomach churning feeling had been evicted from my gut, which sent a surge of relief through me. The last thing I needed right now was a distraction from my upcoming swim.

Once I had on my swimsuit and grabbed my goggles, I headed out with the rest of the team to the pool area. As we walked out through the doors to the pool, my ears immediately protested the boisterous voices and conversations echoing throughout the wide expanse of the room. Due to the high ceilings, noises typically echo, sounding like your shouting into a cave, making it really hard to hear if everyone in the stands is talking all at once, which they were. But somehow, I managed to catch familiars voices through the crowd.

"Percy."

I turned my head toward the sound and my eyes landed on my friends and Bobby and Matthew seated in the top row of the bleachers furthest from me, but high enough to get an aerial view of the entire pool so they could see all the action at a better angle. They were all wearing matching black sweatshirts zipped up all the way to their necks, which was insane. It was like a thousand degrees in here; I was already sweating and I was wearing nothing but swim trunks. Once they were sure I was looking, they yanked off the sweatshirt and I laughed as I took in what they were wearing.

They had gone all out for the occasion. Each of them wore matching cobalt blue, custom made t-shirts that had GO PERCY! scrawled in white lettering. Beneath the words, there was a picture of me, grinning like an idiot, printed on the shirt. It was blurry and made me look like a smiling fool, but I loved it nonetheless. And to make the whole thing even better, Thalia, with Grover's help, held up an enormous, white poster board with the saying _Kick ass or I'll kick yours _painted in blue, bubble letters. Thalia's own personal encouragement. She smiled as she watched how much her sign made me crack up. If that wasn't motivation, I don't know what was.

As the stomach-clutching chuckles left me, I felt the rest of my nerves disappear completely and I couldn't even remember what I'd been so nervous about earlier. But that's why I had the best friends ever. Grover was just flat out supportive and always there for me, Nico was just plain goofy and always managed to bring a smile to my face, and Thalia, Thalia was an M&M. Despite her rough exterior, her hard outer shell, she was really a kind person, all mushy gushy. They may be social outcasts at Yancy Fancy Proper Academy, but that's what makes them so great. They're not your normal, everyday kind of people; they're kind and goofy and maybe even a little weird, but to me, that's the best kind of friends.

"Alright, cupcakes. No messing around. Let's make this a good, clean win." Couch Hedge, the swim coach, bellowed, blowing his shiny, silver whistle for emphasis. "Swim as quickly as you can. And no joking around; I'm looking at you, Stolls." Taking two fingers, he made the _I'm watching you_ sign before reading off the order for the relay race.

"I don't understand why he always does that. It was only one time." Travis Stoll complained, but you could tell it halfhearted because of a proud smile tilting up the corners of his lips.

"That was the best prank yet." Connor sighed, a dreamy expression decorating his face.

Their freshman year, the Stolls had first joined the swim team and because of their love for pulling a good prank, thought it would be hilarious to pull one on an opposing team. They'd taken a thick, durable sheet of glass, similar to one around hockey rings, and had bolted it to the bottom of the pool in the lane of a rather mean boy from the other team. They'd said it blended so well with the water, that you could be an arm's length away and still have no indication that it was there. So when the race began, the boy had taken the lead, but promptly lost it shortly after when he hit face first into the glass. They said the best part of the whole thing was that his expression was priceless. It ranged between pissed and utterly confused. He had two choices: A) cut into the other lane next to him, which was grounds for disqualification or B) just sit in the middle of the pool until the end of the race. Taking option B, he sat there and received boos from fellow classmates who saw this as a refusal to even try to beat us. Connor had won, but eventually, the win was revoked after the furious prank victim explained the situation to his coach.

"That was the by far the dumbest idea you guys have ever had." I told them, earning two glares from both twins.

"You're just jelly that you didn't think of it first." They said simultaneously. I have no idea how they do that. Must be a twins thing, like what Bobby and Matthew have. Not going to lie, it's pretty creepy.

I lined up behind Beckendorf, a burly guy obsessed with mechanics and constructing new technologies. He was a nice guy, congratulating me for making the team the moment Hedge had confirmed it, and provided very entertaining conversation, which mainly consisted of his girlfriend, Selena Beaugard. Apparently, she thought he needed to get out more, meet new people instead of locking himself in his workshop, so she'd convinced him to try something new. And he figured swimming would be more fun than anything else. But despite his hesitation to join the team, I think he thoroughly enjoys it now and he's actually pretty good. But how could he not be? The guy was pure muscle and flew through the water like a torpedo.

The first guy in line was Travis Stoll who, pushing aside his pranking nature, is a fast swimmer. Travis readied himself, adjusting his stance and placing his fingers on the white platform. The second the whistle blew, he was off the platform and zipping through the water like a minnow being chased by a bass. For such a lazy jokester, he was a remarkably good swimmer and fast as a bullet. Before I knew it, he was already at the other side and Connor had dove into the pool.

Nerves bundled in my stomach as I watch the line dwindle down to just Beckondorf and me. And then, Beckondorf was gone and I was the only one left, standing all alone on the other side.

"Swimmers ready?" the ref bellowed, raising his whistle in the air, preparing to bring it to his mouth and emit the shrill noise.

My palms began to sweat, my stomach flopped, as the nerves returned full force, threatening to overtake me completely. But as I looked up at the my friends once again, their faces full of pride and unending support no matter the outcome of the race, I mustered up enough strength to push those pesky butterflies out of the way.

The whistle sounded and I was off the platform, diving head first into the water.

A shiver rippled through me as the chilly water rushed into my pours and soaked me to the bone. But despite the cold, I didn't falter and I didn't let it deter my determination to try my best. If anything, the freezing water temperature, only made me increase my speed, pushing myself harder.

I didn't dare look around at the other competitors for fear that would mess up my pace. Stroke. Breathe. Stroke. Breath. Stroke. I inhaled deeply as my right arm broke the surface and then, my head was back down by the time my left was out of the water.

Freestyle had always been my favorite swim, the one I found was more efficient than the others. The overall quickness of the stroke and built-up speed releasing adrenaline into my body always encouraged me to faster and brought me a little rush along with it.

The thing I love most about swimming is that the water is just so calming. It takes your mind off of everything and locks your focus on nothing but the feel of the water against your skin. I'd always felt like my problems were lighter, feather soft, and seemed far away, which oddly made them seem more bearable, solvable even. Ever since I was little, I'd felt this way. I remember when I was six years old and had just gotten into a fight with a friend at school. He'd told me he didn't want to friends anymore and me, being six, was crushed. The moment my mom had come to pick me up at the end of the day, I'd burst into fits of tears. She'd tried to consol me, telling me that everything was going to be okay, but it hadn't worked. And later that day, she'd taken me to the beach and somehow, she knew it would do wonders for my attitude. And it did. The moment the water touched my little toes, I felt like everything was going to be okay, just like my mother had said.

With one last kick, I reached the wall at the other end of the pool and slapped my palm against it. Upon breaking the surface, I had expected cries and cheers for the victor sounding throughout the entire pool area, but all my ears picked up on was silence. Shocked, I lifted my goggles off my eyes and surveyed the area, taking in my surroundings, and was stunned to find everyone in the crowd staring at me in open-mouthed shock.

Confused, I turned my attention to Nico, Thalia, and the Chases only to find them in the same position, eyes wide, mouths unhinged, jaws practically hitting the floor. _What? Why are they looking at me like that? I can't be that bad of a swimmer, can I? _

Still having not the slightest idea of what the big deal was, I figured I'd ask the guy in the lane next to me, but was shocked to find the spot empty. Scanning my eyes over the lane, my eyes bulged as I saw that the guy hadn't even made it half way across the pool yet.

Something had to be wrong, there's no way in Tartarus I was that fast. Maybe it was mistake and he started late or something. Or maybe he already made it to the end and was just doing an extra lap as practice. But my theories were squashed as the announcer came over the loud speaker and spoke.

"_Attention, Ladies and Gentleman, we have a winner. Mr. Perseus Jackson of Yancy Academy who is not only the faster swimmer to attend Yancy, but has just broken a school record." _Cue the cheering I'd been expecting earlier.

Needless to say, I was shocked. My first race here at Yancy and I not only come first place, but also break a record. This was just phenomenal. I hadn't expected this upon joining the team and I doubt anyone could. It was just so crazy, but at the same time, truly amazing, and filled me with a feeling of euphoria.

"_He'd beaten the previous record of 23 seconds for the 50 meter freestyle with a time of 22.04." _The cheers increased to an ear-splitting pitch with that announcement and along with them, my joy.

I was yanked from the water and was congratulated and pounded on the back for my success. Crowds of people surrounded me, asking questions and fighting for my attention. Searching the crowd, I tried to catch sight of my friends, but instead, my eyes found a man snapping photos of me with his camera as a medal was looped around my neck, a wide smile plastered to my face. The flash was blinding, but I managed to catch him put up his hand in a thumbs up and slink out the door and out of sight as if he hadn't been there at all.

My teammates hoisted me up on their broad shoulders and paraded out of the pool area toward the locker room, which upon our entrance broke out into celebration. The support from my team was immensely strong, each and every one of them congratulated me. They even invited me to celebrate at someone's house later, but that plan was shut down by the Stolls who weren't able to attend. Connor had suggested we rescheduled for tomorrow, which the team happily agreed to.

The crowd of awe-filled spectators hadn't dissipated until long after the Chase's stretch limo had sped from the parking lot, exhaust flumes wafting from the exhaust pipe. A goofy smiled still clung to my face as we made our way home, a surge of giddiness rocketing through my system and consuming every other thought and emotion I had.

Mr. Chase leaned forward in his seat and patted me on the shoulder, pride on his face. "Great job, Percy. You're a remarkable young man who has a bright future ahead of him. You have an amazing talent." He removed his hand, sinking back into his seat. "Titleholder of a school record. Who would've thought?" Mr. Chase murmured more to himself than me, disbelief running off his words.

He was right. Who would've thought that I, ordinary Percy Jackson, could have not only won a medal his first swim meet, but broken a record in the process? Certainly not me.

"Percy, honey, we are so proud of you." Mrs. Chase added, sending a warm smile at me.

Before she could add more, the twins, who'd been silent the whole ride and had an almost star-struck look on their faces, piped up.

"Oh. My. God. Percy, do you have any idea what you just did? Wow, I'm shocked. That was amazing. You are so awesome." Matthew was practically fangirling as rambled on and on about how cool I'd been and how much he wanted my autograph.

"Can you teach me how to swim like that? I want to be just as good as you." Bobby asked, shooting me a look I just couldn't say no to. His wide brown eyes locked to mine and his lip pouted out a little.

"Of course." I replied, ruffling his hair, to which, he smacked my hand away.

"Woah, no messing with the hair. It's my best feature; the ladies love it." He smoothed his hair down, arranging it back into its normal style.

"You don't to impress anyone yet; you're like seven."

"I'm ten, thank you very much, and yeah, I do." I rolled my eyes as he popped his collar and threw on a random pair of sunglasses that had been placed in one of the cup holders.

The rest of the ride home was filled by goofing around with the boys and Mrs. Chase starting conversation occasionally. Both twins had groaned the moment we'd pulled into the horseshoe driveway at the house. For the umpteenth time, they explained yet again how much more they like the limo than their rooms. They claimed the limo was more homey, which I completely disagreed with. And oddly enough, they even said they'd give up all their toys just to live in one, which sounded insane coming from them. They were crazy about all their toys, including those little Lego things they played with. One time, I'd asked if they needed help building something with the tiny blocks and before I could even pick one up, the boys had dove head first for them, scooping them up before I could lay a finger on them. They'd kicked me out of their room the moment their "babies" were safe. I'd never seen anyone more possessive of those things than Bobby and Matthew.

The moment Mr. and Mrs. Chase had opened the door, Bobby and Matthew had dragged me up the stairs so they could go reenact how cool their "brother" was to Annabeth. It brought a smile to my face when they'd said that and it surely warmed my heart that those adorable little boys thought of me as family.

Without even knocking, the boys barged into her room, but stopped short, looks of disgust mirrored on their faces. It was odd to see them like that; after living with them for so long, you learn that not much appalls them. Heck, they'd found a decapitated snake in the yard the other day and had picked it up like it was nothing.

I directed my eyes to what they were staring at and was met with a sight I was definitely not expecting.

A familiar head of curly blond hair was lip locking another head of blond hair, this one was stick straight.

Instead of Annabeth hunched over her pink notebook, scrawling away on her songs, she was kissing someone. And not just any old someone, but Luke Stupid Castellan. A twinge of pain zipped through my heart and a vile, green feeling unfurled in my stomach as I watched the two.

Bobby, still unable to speak from the horrors of watching his sister swapping spit with his least favorite person, clapped his hands loudly, startling the couple apart.

Both sets of eyes, gray and blue, locked onto us. Luke's were full of annoyance as he glared at the boys and I, but Annabeth's, Annabeth's were consumed by an emotion I couldn't name. They appeared conflicted, confused, as they darted from Luke to me, her cheeks a rosy red.

"Well, this is awkward." I said, turning to walk back out the door with Bobby and Matthew on my tail, not wanting to see another minute of her clutching _him._

"Percy." Annabeth called, her voice hoarse and tight with emotion.

I turned and looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to speak.

"I-" But before she could finish, Luke cut her off.

"Come on, Annabeth. We're going to have to leave now if we're going to make it on time. In case you've forgotten, I have that big movie premiere tonight." He briskly walked to the door without even waiting for her, his shoulder bumping mine as he left.

Annabeth locked eyes with me, hers searching mine, but whatever she was looking for she didn't seem to find. Shaking her head, she gave me one last look as she hesitated to leave, but then followed silently behind Luke.

The remainder of my night was spent locked in my room, thinking over today's events. I'd won a medal, broken a record, and had witnessed my sort of friend making out with the guy I despised most. That last part is what took up the majority of my thoughts, but I didn't understand why. Why should I care? It's her business, not mine, but as much as I tried to tell myself that, it didn't go away.

I didn't get an ounce of sleep that night; too much was on my mind for that. That nasty feeling in my gut hadn't receded, only manifested into a muddled blob that made me feel sick inside.

And I knew it all had to do with that kiss, but why? I didn't have a clue.

**Annabeth's Pov**

I couldn't sleep; every time I shut my eyes, the scene with Luke replayed like a broken record, skipping only to the part I dreaded most.

The kiss had been so unexpected that I nearly toppled over the moment his lips touched mine. I hadn't known he felt any romantic feelings toward me at all. I'd thought our whole relationship was platonic, friendly, but obviously, it had been more to him. But to me, I wasn't so sure.

I'd had a crush on him ever since I was little, looking up to him, nearly swooning whenever he sent me one of his striking smiles, but things felt different now. My emotions were scattered all over the place. One moment, my heart was pitter-pattering for Percy, but the moment I see Luke, it always switches course. It was like my heart couldn't make up its mind, leaving me clueless as ever.

Part of me enjoyed the kiss while another, larger part dreaded it. I shouldn't have returned it, not when I was so unsure of my feelings. But I hadn't pulled back. Maybe it was to preserve Luke's feelings from being ripped apart. Maybe for a deeper reason that hasn't quite revealed itself. I don't know why, but I'd kissed him back and I should be giddy after getting kissed by my childhood crush. But instead of being wrapped in a soft, passionate blanket of bliss like I'd fantasized about for years, I was only thinking of Percy and what he thought. What did he think? Did he even care or was it merely a bug on the windshield that he could simply push away with the wipers? Was he awake right not, the same things zipping through his mind at the exact moment?

My heart craved to ask him, but I knew I wouldn't even be able to get the words out of my mouth. Even if I had, they wouldn't make a bit of a difference. The gap between Percy and I was slowly closing, but not enough to ask him a question on such a personal level. And besides after the way I'd treated him, he probably wouldn't think twice about my kiss with Luke.

So why did I keep hoping he did?

* * *

**Yuck! Lukabeth! Not my favorite scene, but I wanted to give Percy a little hint on his slowly growing feelings for Annabeth. **

**Anyway, that's the chapter. Hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think down in a review.**

**~TwistedTrident~**


	7. Chapter 7

** Thank you all so much for the reviews! :)**

**And yes, I know it took me a LONG time to update and I'm really sorry for that. My schedule has been crazy lately.**

**Anyway, here's the chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Percy Pov**

News of my success spread like wildfire, circulating through the entire San Francisco area until every resident knew that the Chase's had a new addition to their famous family, a swimming prodigy. Wherever I went, I was greeted by strangers, applauding and congratulating my success, and wishing me luck in the future. It was so overwhelming. One day, no one knew me, students in the hallway didn't pay me a second glance, but now they knew me by name, went out of their ways to talk to me, treated me like some swimming god or something. I wasn't sure how to react to their sudden interest in me. I knew it was only because I made this high-end private school look good, but nonetheless, I felt good, like I finally belonged, found my place in this whole, big scheme of things.

Even my old, senile English teacher, Mr. Hyp, short for Mr. Hypnos, stayed awake long enough to give me a small smile before he yanked his tattered, stained pillow out of his desk drawer, dropping his head on the soft fabric and dozing off.

All of this attention made me think back to the photo shoot when I'd told that photographer that I didn't want to be famous. In a way, I had done just the opposite. I was more popular around school than I'd ever been and even our grouchy, next-door neighbors took the time out of their day to bring me a congratulatory cake. Why, I didn't know. If they were so hell-bent on avoiding me before, why are they being so nice now? Maybe it was because the Chases were such a big deal around here or maybe because everyone figured I'd be the "boring" member of the Chase household, the deadbeat boy with absolutely no talent. I didn't know the answer, but I figured the most likely option would be the latter.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts, and focused on the large, square slab of stone standing before me.

The memorial the Chase's had built in honor of my mother was beautiful. To most people, it would look like every other headstone, but to me, it felt like so much more, held so many more memories. Spread all around the stone in a small circle were my mother's favorite flowers. I couldn't remember their names, but I did know that they came from a small island off the coast that my mom and I had visited a couple years ago. Ogeely? Oglia? Olga? Ogygia, that's it. At the foot of stone, there was a collage of pictures of the both of us together, each of them depicting a happy moment in our lives. Some showed us at our cabin in Montauk while others showed us at home, laughing at some absurd thing that had no doubt come out of my mouth. One of them even had my dad in it, permanently developed into the photo. He was standing beside my mom, one arm wrapped around her waist, a goofy grin on his face, a grin I recognized well. It was my own. My mom had a huge smile on her face, love in her eyes as she looked up at my father. They looked so happy in the picture; I didn't understand how that changed in such a short period of time.

I had no idea how the picture had gotten there and quite frankly, it kind of freaked me out. The last time I'd been out here the photo hadn't been here. Honestly, I didn't even know we had any pictures of my dad. I just figured my mom had burnt them along with the place he once had in her heart, a place that used to be solely his. She'd never really talked about my father even when I'd asked about him, but I knew that deep down that his betrayal had hurt her more than she let on. It changed her.

Deciding to ignore it, I went on with the real reason I had come out here. To talk with my mom and this time I had more to tell her than just babbling on and on about Nico, Thalia, and Grover. I could've talked about stuff with Mr. Chase-he'd made that clear time and time again-, but some stuff I knew I couldn't bring up. Especially when it came to his daughter, which is exactly what I needed to talk about.

"Hey, mom." I began, feeling like a goof ball for actually pausing like I was giving her time to respond.

I sat in the soft, dewy grass for hours just talking to her, revealing the things I've kept bottled up to the one person I knew would understand. I told her about the swim meet, school, the silly things Nico, Thalia, and Grover had done, and just random things that popped up into my head that I wanted to tell her. But when I came the topic of Annabeth, I hesitated. It's not that I didn't want to tell her, but I found it difficult to put my feeling into words. I still wasn't sure what I felt about her, unable to pinpoint one emotion that perfectly described what she meant to me. Her kiss with Luke hadn't settled well with me, that I know, but could my feelings run deeper than just a disliking for the guy?

Finally, I relented and told my mom all about the way my heart had faltered, literally stopped, when I'd seen Luke's tongue practically jammed down Annabeth's throat. And when I finished, I felt oddly lighter, like I'd been carrying a backpack full of bricks and suddenly it just evaporated right off my shoulders.

Picking myself up, I brushed dirt and loose pieces of grass off my shorts when my phone vibrated. I pulled it out of my pocket, a new text lighting up the screen of my new IPhone.

_ Hey, ur comin 2nite rite?_

~_B_

_** Yeah, man, I'll b there.**_

_** ~P**_

I slid the phone back into my pocket and went up to my room to get ready for dancing and blaring music.

My phone buzzed once again and I pulled it out, seeing another text from Beckendorf.

_ Don't forget. Wear something nice. U never kno who ull meet. ;)_

_ ~B_

_ Great. Leave it to Beckendorf to manage my love life. _Silena, the biggest romantic in the books, is officially rubbing off on him. But how could she not, she goes gaga over everything lovey-dovey. Hell, the girl could be Aphrodite. But that's besides the point. Beckendorf has been trying to set me up with random girls for the last couple of days, to which, I'd gently declined for a multitude of reasons, but it seems he's not giving up on his unspoken vow to spark a love connection between some stranger and I. Personally, I think he's so love drunk on Silena that he wants everyone to feel the same, the happiness that brings a smile to his face. I appreciate his effort, but I just can't picture myself with anyone besides-_Don't even finish that thought, Percy. _

Feeling rebellious and not at all in the mood to dress up for someone I don't even know, I threw on a green shirt that I'd been told matched my eyes perfectly. The soft green fabric was comfortable and casual without making me look like I've been diving in dumpsters to find clothes. A pair of dark wash jeans clad on my legs and my black converse on my feet and I was ready to go.

Shutting the door behind me, I headed down the hall and thundered down the steps, heading out the door and to my car. I threw the door open and slid into the comfy, leather seats, sticking the key into the ignition and making the now familiar drive to Beckendorf's house.

In an attempt to get into the party spirit, I switched on the radio. A poppy feminine voice sounded from the speakers, the beat fast-paced and fun. I recognized it immediately. Annabeth. The girl may have a stiff, prickly personality, but damn can she sing. Her voice fluxuated flawlessly to match the tempo of the song, the pitch perfect.

Before I knew it, I lost myself in the words and found myself bopping my head to the beat, my hand tapping the addictive rhythm on the steering wheel.

I may not have been in the mood for a party before, but now I sure was. I wanted to get up and dance, lose myself in the music, and most of all, have a good time.

And that's exactly what I was going to do.

* * *

"To Percy!" My teammates clinked their glasses and gulped down the pungent contents in their red plastic cups. I nearly gagged when the sharp taste devoured my taste buds and its searing warmth worked its way into my belly.

My team had kept their promise, throwing me the party that they thought I deserved, which, according to them, was centered around alcoholic beverages, pretty girls, and blaring music.

The moment I'd walked in the house, they'd pushed drinks at me, claiming it was time to let loose. I'd accepted, but hadn't drunk enough where I was as wasted as ninety-nine percent of the guests. Mostly because I didn't see how stumbling around the room blurry-eyed with delayed reaction timing and poor judgment could be any fun whatsoever.

The Stolls downed yet another drink before making their way over to me on wobbly legs. They staggered around, careening sideways as the alcohol dominated their systems, knocking over things that would no doubt cost a fortune to replace. I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up inside me when I watched them. They sure were quite the entertainers….even when they weren't trying to be.

Travis tripped over the little brown rug hugging the floor and resorted to flopping on the floor like a fish when he found that he wasn't able to pick himself back up. While Travis was trying to imitate a beached whale, Connor had run into the little coffee table in the corner of the room, swearing like a sailor as he clutched his knee.

"Did you see that?" Connor slurred, a bewildered look on his face. "It jumped right out in front of me." He leaned forward and gingerly poked the table, flinching away the moment his finger made contact as if it were a vicious animal poised to strike.

Once he lost interest in the solid, inanimate object, he continued making his way toward me, spewing gibberish about how the table must be a wizard in disguise who's out to get him. By this point, my stomach was literally cramping from the unending fits of laughter bursting out of me. And it only got worse when Connor face-planted the wooden floorboards after tripping over his brother.

Red-faced with both embarrassment and annoyance, he threw himself back up to his feet and approached me cautiously, putting one foot in front of the other very slowly.

"Hey, Percy." Connor garbled out, his stale breath hitting me in the face, reeking of alcohol. "Wuz up?" He was drunk as a skunk, totally out of it, in his own little world. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. From what I've heard, the Stolls had always been the party type, the crazy, wild, and free kind of guys. Live for the moment guys.

"Nothing really. What about you?" I asked.

"I cum wit uh message." He slurred, his words almost incomprehensible.

"Which is?"

"Beckendorf says to meet him in the backyard. There's someone he wants you to meet." He winked at me-or at least I think it was a wink. That or his eye's twitching. And walked-er-stumbled away.

I sighed heavily and mentally prepared myself and my little speech to gently turn down my potentional "love interest". After this, I'm totally done; I'm telling Beckendorf to give it up because I'm not interested. It never gets easier kindly rejecting those girls' offers to dinners and movies mainly because I hate hurting people. And they always, always give me this crestfallen look that makes me feel like an asshole for not even giving them a chance. So I'm done; I don't need anymore pesky emotions nagging at me.

Shutting the backdoor behind me, I stepped out into the cool, night air, the chilly breeze nipping at my exposed flesh. I scanned the yard, my eyes brushing past the campfire with guests crowded around it, past the cluster of teens playing beer pong on an old ping pong table, until they finally landed on Beckendorf, standing off to the side near an enormous, oak tree. A rather pretty girl stood beside him, chatting lightly, her back leaning against the trunk of the tree, hands clasped behind her back. Long, brown hair tumbled down her shoulders, half of it left down, the other half styled into an intricate braid, stopping at the middle of her back. Warm almond eyes met mine and she froze, her eyes taking me in, before a soft smile lit up her face and light pink tinted her cheeks.

She was beyond beautiful, that I'll admit, but I'll bet all the money in my wallet that she's knows it and is a total b with an itch about it.

Beckendorf, having noticed me, walked over to me and threw his arm over my shoulders, leading me over to the girl. He bent his head down to whisper in my ear.

"Try not to mess this up, man. Okay? It took a lot of coaxing to get her here." He breathed, his voice kind yet firm.

I nodded despite my hesitance to actually take his advice.

When we reached her, Beckendorf removed his arm and subtly nudged me a tad closer to her so I wasn't standing awkwardly far away from them as I had been.

"Calypso, I'd like you to meet my friend, Percy." Calypso straightened herself from her relaxed position and held out a small, dainty hand for me to shake.

Her hand was soft and smooth and girly while mine, unlike hers, were rough and calloused. A smile grew on her face the moment my fingers had made contact with hers.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Percy." She said.

"It's nice to meet you, too." I replied, retracting my hand.

"Well," Beckendorf began, "you kids have fun." He left, burying himself in the crowd of drunken partygoers, leaving me alone to kindly reject yet another date.

"So, what do you like to do?" Calypso said, a slight waver in her voice as if she were nervous.

"I love to swim. Anything to do with the water is right up my alley."

"That's really cool. You're like a fish."

I laughed, imagining myself as a hybrid man-fish. "Just without the gills and scales. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be very attractive."

She giggled at the joke and I smile in return.

_ Finally, someone with a real sense of humor. Take that, Nico, my jokes _are _funny._

"What about you? What do you like to do?" I asked, genuinely curious with what she likes to do in her free time.

"Garden, mostly. I'm a huge fan of nature, but I love flowers most of all. My whole house is decked out with them. I even planted an embarrassingly big garden in my backyard. The moment you walk out there, you're practically swallowed by it. It's sort of like a labyrinth. But one of my favorite things about it is when you get an aerial view of the lawn; from all the way up there, it looks almost like an island, a little spot of land known by no one, but me. It-" She breaks off, looking a little embarrassed. "I know it sounds silly, but that's just what I think."

"No, it's not silly. It's actually really great. More people should be so into nature and stuff like you are. The earth is polluted enough as it is and most of the population, don't even care and only make it worse. My friend, Grover, is the biggest tree hugger you'll ever meet; no one, and I mean no one, will ever care as much about the environment as him."

Calypso smiled before stepping closer, a flirty smile sprouting up on her face.

_ Uh oh. Here it comes. _

"Do you wanna-" I tuned her out, evaluating my chances of this not ending in fits of tears. Unfortunately, it seemed that either way I approached it, she was going to be upset.

I cut her off. "Listen, Calypso, you seem really nice and you're really pretty, but," I paused-she blushed at the pretty part- and found that I couldn't get the words out. She'd been awfully nice to me, way nicer that a certain someone had been when we'd met, and in all honesty, I could see us being a good couple. She was sweet, down to earth, nice, pretty, didn't treat me like dirt. Basically, everything I'd ever hoped for in a girl and yet, my heart's still not completely on board because of _her, _the polar opposite of Calypso. Granted, she'd been nice that day up in her room when I'd made her laugh so hard tears leaked from her eyes, but since then, it seems like she hasn't even made an effort to build up our seemingly-budding friendship. So why should I? She wants to spend all her time with _it-_Yes, I am indeed referring to him as an it-so why should I even try? That's right, I shouldn't.

I'd already made up my mind on the whole Calypso thing, but when my eyes landed on the stocky, blue-eyed boy mingling around the ping pong table, my annoyance only grew and I steeled my resolve, my decision seeming like an even better one.

"But," I continued, turning my attention back to Calypso, "I really want to know if you'd like to dance."

* * *

Catchy beats encircled me, thrumming through every pore in my body as I swayed my body in time with the music. This was what I'd been aiming for the moment I'd stepped foot on the makeshift dance floor in the living room. To lose myself in the booming, tantalizing sounds emitting from the big, blocky speakers. My body rocked to the rhythm on its own accord. Not once did I have to think about what I move I should perform next and for once, I didn't care that my dancing was bad enough to make children scream with terror and make old ladies cover their eyes and wish they were blind.

Calypso appeared to be feeling the same way. Her face looked alive and high on the words pouring through the surround sound. She twirled her hips to the beat and swayed, eyes closed. She, much like myself and the majority of the other teens here, sans the guy passed out in the corner, looked as if the music was a rollercoaster and she hopped on for a ride. She looked like she didn't have a care in the world aside from bopping her body to the harmony and I was certain I looked the same.

Generally, I'd always avoided parties, considering I wasn't really the party type, even before my mother's passing, I still rarely went out, no matter how much my friends used to complain. My friends would want to dance their socks off while I just wanted to leap into the pool. They would down spiked beverages while I preferred to sip my blue Coca-Cola. But, now I understood why it had all been such a big deal. Why they'd been so determined to attend as many as they could. Because they could let their worries and problems fly out the window, at least for a little while, and just enjoy the moment, now. I genuinely understood what the hype had been about and I guess you could say that I like it, parties. Now, don't go thinking I'm going to get sucked in and get drunk off my ass because that's not going to happen, but in all honestly, I could care less about the food, the drinks, everything but the music and the rush you get to just get out there and bust a move.

I was surprised to find that I was thoroughly enjoying myself with such a rowdy group of people and a girl I'd been prepared to turn down. It didn't even faze me-that much-when _it _walked by with _her_ following closely at _its_ heels. I wasn't even sure why they were here, not to congratulate me, that's for sure. A publicity stunt to gather more popularity and gain attention seemed much more likely than Beckendorf or the team inviting them.

I didn't dwell on the unanswered question and let it go, popping the pesky thing like bubble gum until it became almost non-existent in my mind.

Later in the night, Thalia and Nico arrived-Grover couldn't attend because it was his and his girlfriend, Juniper's, six month anniversary and he wanted to take her on a nice dinner- and joined us on the dance floor, laughing at my disastrous attempt at the worm. Sadly, I just couldn't seem to move like the sticky, flexible creature. I guess it didn't help me that, unlike it, I have a spine.

The four of us danced for hours unaware that time was quickly racing by until our feet began to ache, but still, we didn't stop. A familiar song drifted through the crowd of sweating bodies and Nico, Thalia, and I all looked at each at the exact same moment, eyes wide along with our smiles as one of our favorite songs made an appearance.

I was having the time of my life, dancing with my friends to the song that's been my top fav since forever, but it ended all too quickly.

Through the throng of people dancing their little hearts out, I caught sight of a boy around my age with hair so dark brown it almost looked black, but that wasn't what stopped me in my tracks. It was his eyes when they locked onto mine. They were the color of sea-foam, a color I was well familiar with. Because they were my own.

I'd never seen anyone and I mean anyone with eyes that were a shade as unique as mine on another person ever. Now, it might seem like a small circumstance to find someone with the same eye color to most people, but a thought struck me that made me think that this was more than a coincidence.

_ Which is how your half brothers came alone. _Walter had said. Could it be true? Could I really have just met a boy with my flesh and blood randomly at a high school party or was I just over thinking things? But, then again, why would Walter lie? The answer is simple. He wouldn't.

I started forward, fully prepared to barge through the crowd like a charging bull to hopefully find out the truth, but I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, man, you okay?" Nico asked, his eyebrows knit together at my sudden change in mood.

I brushed past him, not bothering to answer, because the honest truth was that I wasn't sure myself. Was I okay? I didn't know. I could quite possibly meet the person who shares my bloodline, the person who could be the brother I'd always wished for. But if I were wrong, I'd no doubt make a fool out of myself, but nonetheless, I have to know, which is the only reason why I push forward and shoulder passed party guests.

I stopped, having lost sighed of the boy, and scan the area, looking for some indication for where he could be. Coming up short, I start to head in the direction I'd last seen him, but I don't get far. The music abruptly stops and I-party guests included-halt, confused to why the tune no longer blared from the speakers when a gruff voice cleared their throat from behind me.

Spinning around, I find a man, standing tall near the entryway, the door ajar. He glanced around almost disapprovingly at the guests before his eyes fell on me. I felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia blanket over me like a fresh layer of fallen snow as I studied him. He looked oddly…familiar.

I couldn't recall how I knew him or why I felt so strongly that I'd seen him before, but then it hit me, like a giant sporting a club just thwacked me over the head.

Even before he opened his mouth, I knew exactly who he was and I knew exactly what he was going to say.

He opened his mouth to speak, eyes still burning a hole through me, and as the words left his mouth, my theory was confirmed. And the well-known familiar feeling made perfect sense.

"I'm looking for my son."

Because he was my father.

* * *

**Surprised, Percy? It's okay, I would be too if I hadn't written it. Haha. :) **

**Anyway, there's chapter 7. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much I enjoyed writing it. **

**Review!**

**~TwistedTrident~**


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